Forbidden Fruit
by A Born Legend Maker
Summary: (Complete) For them, it all began with a dream. But when these two unlikely people are brought together, will the darker side of the night try to tear them apart? Or will they stand strong? (SetoJou)
1. Prologue

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

Disclaimer: Read it here and now, because I'm not repeating it in the rest of this story. I do not own _Yu-Gi-Oh!_, Kazuki Takahashi does. So bother him for rights to the manga/anime. Because I have none. Too bad for me.

Other notes and such will be listed at the bottom of this chapter.

* * *

Forbidden Fruit  
Prologue  
Dreamscape

* * *

Seto Kaiba stared out at the afternoon sky, wishing the bell would ring. Of course, it didn't, as there were thirty-three minutes left of school. Don't ask how he knew that, because he didn't know, he just. . . did. It was one of the odder things that had been happening lately. 

As he tore his icy midnight eyes from the window, he gazed around the empty classroom. Blinking he looked around, shifting in his seat when he felt the temperature of the room heat up and change dramatically. When his eyes landed on the door, he froze in sheer amazement at what he saw there.

Katsuya Jounouchi, otherwise known to him as the 'puppy,' stood docilely, leaning against the door frame, his hands in his pockets. His blue school uniform shirt was unbuttoned, showing the white T-shirt beneath. But that wasn't what unnerved him. The honey-brown eyes of the blonde were staring at him from beneath unruly golden bangs that fell across his somewhat pale face. Kaiba blinked again, feeling heat rise up his neck and to his cheeks.

Why was he blushing? Oh yes, that was right. Standing up slowly, still maintaining his grace, he moved to stand in the middle of the classroom. Jounouchi walked inside, closed and locked the door behind him. The blonde duellist moved to stand in front of Kaiba, his right hand reaching out and cupping the young CEO's chin. Leaning forward, Kaiba's eyes widened when he felt the puppy's lips brush against his own. He shivered and let a sound somewhere between a mewl and a moan, his eyes closing instantaneously.

Leaning further into that kiss, Kaiba parted his lips, allowing Jounouchi to take over the kiss completely. He eventually found himself being pushed against a desk. Jou's hands began to wander down his chest to his pants where they danced over the bulge that rested there. Just from one kiss he was already completely aroused. He made that same half mewl, half moan sound once more when Jounouchi broke the kiss gently and began kissing down his neck.

He moaned again, throwing back his head when Jou bit him gently, but hard enough to send a wave of pleasure shooting towards his already pulsing groin. Those hands unzipped his pants, and Kaiba closed his eyes when he felt the familiar feel of hard working, somewhat calloused hands encircle his throbbing erection.

As Jounouchi began pumping him, he moved his hips forward without really realizing it. Soft sounds that were hardly coherent escaped his lips as he gripped the edges of the desk he was leaning against hard enough to leave ten crescent moon marks from his finger nails digging into the fine wood. He whimpered in disappointment when Jou's hand released him. He hadn't come and was still highly aroused. But then, Jou's lips closed over his dripping tip and he jumped feeling a new, even better wave of pleasure wash over him.

"Seto. . ." He heard his name being whispered. Looking down at Jounouchi, he couldn't help but smile. The blonde's honey-brown eyes where sparkling as if caught in the throws of passionate love-making he didn't want to end. "Seto. . . ." There it was again. But he realized that the puppy wasn't the one talking to him. It was someone else.

He felt himself about to come when the voice broke through his thoughts, his pleasure, louder and more forced then before.

"Seto!"

He flew up in bed, looking to the door where Mokuba was pounding against the wood, calling his name repeatedly. Blinking in confusion and still aroused, he tried to even out his unsteady breathing. Moaning softly, half in irritation and half in pain from his hard-on, he rose from his bed, thankful for the baggy silk, draw-string pants he wore every night. Sauntering sleepily over to the door, he unlocked it and opened it a crack to peer through.

"What?" He asked, his voice husky and softer than was normal.

Mokuba's innocent, thirteen-year-old, indigo eyes stared right back at him. Genuine concern echoed in their depths. Sighing deeply, he watched his brother eye him as critically as he could through the crack in the door.

"You were moaning in your sleep. I - I thought you were having another nightmare." The younger Kaiba said truthfully.

Kaiba's eyes widened somewhat as he remembered his dream. Opening the door all the way, he knelt before his brother who still only reached to about his elbow, if that. Placing his nimble, thin-fingered hands on the boy's shoulders he gave him a rare, heart-warming smile. The other boy returned the smile.

"I was. Thanks for waking me up, Mokuba." Kaiba paused then sighed. "Go back to sleep, you've got school in two hours."

The black-haired boy nodded, hugged his older brother briefly, then ran down the hall back to his room. Kaiba stood slowly, watching the boy go. He felt so guilty lately. Mokuba kept waking up because he was moaning and tossing and turning in his bed. All because of these damned dreams. Every night it was the same thing. Always Jounouchi, always him getting a blow or hand job, and yet. . . It was so real, it couldn't possibly be a dream.

Yet it was, and because of that, his brother kept losing hours of sleep pounding on his door at night to wake him up. There was only one night when he'd actually come in his dream, finally climaxed. And during that dream he'd screamed his pleasure, having fallen off the bed and hitting his nightstand without even knowing it. Mokuba had eventually called in Iwamoto, their head of security, to open the door because he hadn't gotten a response after his scream and the bang from his head hitting the nightstand.

Sighing deeply, dejectedly, still unexplainably aroused, he moved back into the shadows of his room, closing and locking the door afterwards. He stood there, his left hand pressed palm flat on the wood surface, his forehead resting beside his hand. His right hand itched towards his pants and the arousal that still pumped feverously with the need to be released.

As he pushed away from his bedroom door and crossed the room to the bathroom, he wondered why he'd been having these dreams lately. They'd started a month ago to date and had always been the same thing, always involving Jounouchi. No one else. Sure, he knew he liked guys, that he was gay, not that anyone but his brother knew that, and yet. . . . Why Jounouchi? Why not anyone else?

Those were questions he'd yet to answer in the past four weeks, and he doubted he'd answer them anytime soon. So, as he took a cold shower, amazingly releasing him of his arousal, dressed and prepared to leave for Domino High School, he decided it was time to confront the blonde. It was time to find out what these dreams meant. And maybe, just maybe, he could have a little fun with this. . . . .

As he sat in the limo on the ride to school, Kaiba's icy midnight eyes sparkled with such a dark purpose that was so genuine in nature that Mokuba shivered involuntarily and prayed to every God he knew, and any that would listen, that his big brother never looked at him that way. He'd die without knowing what had happened.

* * *

"Come on, Jou, it can't be that bad!" Anzu said happily, her large cerulean eyes over excited and way too sparkly. 

The aforementioned blonde eyed her with wary criticism before inching closer to Yuugi and Yami, and sighing deeply. Running a hand through his already naturally unruly blonde hair, making it stick up even more, he sat down at a table in the school yard and rested his head in his hands, elbow propped up on the stone. Yuugi sat across from him, Yami standing behind the tri-colour haired duellist, his hands on his shoulders. Honda and Ryou leaned on opposite ends of the table.

Anzu remained standing slightly off to the side, looking a little lost at why everyone had suddenly gotten so depressed. Shrugging she sat down beside Yuugi and tapped her nails on the stone. One look from Yami told her to cease her antics instantly. It was almost hilarious how she 'eep'ed quietly and did as that glare told her to.

"It _is _dat bad, Anzu. I've been havin' dese dreams for a month now. I'm beginnin' to wonder what it all means." The blonde replied eventually.

Yuugi looked up, his misty amethyst eyes scanning the school yard. It just so happened that at that one moment, he spotted Kaiba's limo pull up in front of the school, the tall CEO stepping out of the vehicle, briefcase and everything. Damn the guy was always so uptight. Always precise in everything. _For once, _Yuugi thought, _I wish he'd be unnerved by **something. **_

Looking up at Yami, who had spotted the brunette CEO of KaibaCorp as well, he nodded and looked at Jou. "Well, we'd better head in. Wouldn't want Shinichi-sama getting angry at us for being late again." He said offhandedly.

They all nodded and ran off towards the stares and up into the main hall where their lockers were. However, luck was not shining on Jounouchi that day. A bully that hadn't taken to kindly to him over the last few weeks for standing up for Yuugi again, knocked into him, hard, hitting him in the stomach and then kicking him square between the shoulders.

Jounouchi fell face first down the stairs and ran into someone else. When he opened his eyes again, they widened seeing equally wide eyes staring right back at him. The person he'd hit was Seto Kaiba, and the other looked none too happy to have him straddled - accidentally mind you - by a guy who was widely considered his enemy more than Yuugi Mutou.

"Shit." Jou mumbled and realized exactly _how_ close they were. Their lips were mere inches apart. Kaiba's eyes widened further before returning to normal and narrowing slightly. The tension between them built up and that few inches of space between them was gradually getting smaller and smaller. The moment was frozen in time and neither boy seemed able to get it to move again.

And perhaps that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

* * *

**End Prologue of Forbidden Fruit**

Okay, that was the prologue, not the first chapter, so all of you know. Will Jounouchi and Kaiba kiss this early? Now if I told you that, that would be giving the plot idea away. And I just can't have that. So, if you want to see chapter one and what happens between them. . . And so on and so forth, review.

And if anyone has any questions they want answered directly, just e-mail me at or Whatever you want. But make sure you leave an e-mail address I can reply to, or a penname you use here at so I can respond to you directly in the first chapter. Look for it soon.

Arigatou, minna-san!

-Wareta Shooki

_Last edited 2 / 14 / 05_


	2. Chapter 1

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

I don't own the song "Just Like You" by Three Days Grace.  
If you're looking for the Disclaimer. Read the prologue.

* * *

Forbidden Fruit  
Chapter 1  
Beginnings

* * *

Kaiba stared up at Jounouchi, wondering why it was he hadn't kicked the puppy off him. Some idiot had knocked into the blonde who in turn had fallen on him. As he stared into those honey-brown eyes that had haunted his dreams for a month now, he realized the distance between them wasn't as great as it should have been. No, it was quite small, a mere few inches.

And when the puppy had whispered "Shit." that distance was made all the noticeable. Then, like invisible hands were pushing them gently, that few inches grew smaller and smaller. Kaiba wondered vaguely as Jounouchi's lips got closer and closer why he hadn't kicked the blonde off him or done something. And then he wondered, a little more vaguely than the first thought, why Jounouchi was still leaning in closer.

When their lips were almost touching the bell rang, causing Jounouchi to jump off Kaiba and stare down at him in a mixture of confusion, horror, and something else. He'd never seen utter, true fear in the puppy's eyes when looking at him before. The wind picked up, blowing those unruly blonde tresses into the eyes he'd been constantly haunted by. Sitting up on his elbows, still on the dirty cement, he matched Jou's stare with one more than equal.

"Come on, Jou!" Came the voice of Yuugi Mutou like a fog horn far in the distance. "We're gonna be late for Shinichi-sama's class! Get moving!"

Jounouchi looked briefly at his friends and nodded, flagging them on. He'd catch up. Kaiba watched, almost horrified, as the blonde moved closer again. But when the puppy held out a hand for him, he blinked then begrudgingly took it. The shorter teen was stronger than he looked. When he helped him stand, Kaiba noticed a bruise disappearing beneath the cuff of his blue uniform jacket-shirt. He wondered what it was from.

Honey-brown eyes sparkled before he mumbled, "Sorry, Kaiba." And ran off down the halls, luckily having already changed into his indoor shoes earlier before the whole incident with Kaiba and that damned bully. Kaiba simply watched the other go then remembered he, too, had class and gracefully picked uphis briefcase that had been knocked from his hand when Jounouchi had ploughed into him, and walked down the halls.

Apparently he'd have a better time with confronting the blonde than he'd originally thought.

* * *

I could be mean  
I could be angry  
You know I could be just like you

Jounouchi sauntered slowly into Ainoko-sama's classroom, his eyes heavy and wishing more than anything he could go home after lunch. But he couldn't. He had to sit through Ainoko-sama's class, which was Japanese History, then go through Trigonometry, English Comprehension (his language arts class) and finally end the day off with Physical Education. Damn, not a good schedule, but he'd deal.

As he sank slowly into his seat in the second to last room of the class room, he noticed that Kaiba was later than usual. Usually, the tall brunette was sitting in his seat to the right of Jou's own and reading some book or working on the equations for their math class. He was forced to have his last four classes with the CEO and lately, for the first time in almost three years, they weren't fighting. It was almost scary.

_I could be fake  
I could be stupid  
You know I could be just like you_

Pulling out the homework he'd actually done for once, and like he'd been doing for the whole year so far, it was only September, he looked to the door. As expected, Kaiba sauntered in with the air of royalty about him. But something was off. Like Jounouchi, his eyes were heavy, and gave him a half-awake look. His rich brown hair was messed up, making it looked as though he'd spiked it purposely all over his head. His icy midnight eyes were dulled, but still sharper than most people's. Even Yami didn't have as sharp witted eyes as Kaiba.

But when the taller teen sank into his desk and laid his head on his arms instantly, Jou knew something was up. What the hell! He was the one that normally slept in Ainoko-sama's class, not Kaiba. Hell, he paid more attention than Yami who was in love with Japanese history, and Yuugi. But that was another thing entirely.

You thought you were standing beside me  
You were only in my way  
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you

Poking the brunette gently in the shoulder, he paused, waiting for the biting anger to lash out at him. It didn't come. Poking the brunette again, once more not receiving an answer, Jounouchi felt something akin to fearful worry engulf him. Staring at Kaiba for a moment and looking to the digital clock attached to the wall above the black-board, Jou got out of his seat and came to kneel beside Kaiba's.

"Kaiba, dude, wake up, man." Those icy midnight eyes opened slowly, but only half-way, eyeing him critically as if summing him up. For all the blonde knew, he was. "Are you alright, Kaiba?" He asked.

"Go away, Jounouchi." Kaiba mumbled and closed his eyes again.

This time that fear took root and stayed there. Looking at Yami's back, the teacher not due to arrive in foranother fifteen minutes, he hissed, "Yami!" Familiar crimson orbs returned his gaze with a single, dark eyebrow raised. It was almost uncanny how the ancient pharaoh of the Sen'nen Puzzle looked exactly like Yuugi. Except he'd died his hair completely black with dark ruby highlights and golden-tipped bangs. He looked so odd with that hair down to his shoulders and pulled back in a low pony-tail.

But hey, who was he to argue with what Yuugi considered "amazingly sexy"? No one, exactly. He motioned with his hand for the Egyptian to 'come here' and waited somewhat impatiently as the boy did so. Yami knelt beside him and raised that eyebrow again. Closer up, you could see the kohl lines on his eyes that accented his already foreign look. Sighing deeply, he answered the unspoken question.

"Kaiba came into class, sat down and went right to sleep. I tried waking him, and got him to open his eyes." He paused here, wondering how Yami would take his next words. Apparently the ancient pharaoh took the silence as Jounouchi being done explaining why he'd called him over.

"And why did you call me over here? Surely, Katsuya, that isn't all." That deep alto voice was flowing and never failed to make Jounouchi shiver. Yami was the only one in their group of friends that called him by his given name. It just seemed opaque to call him by a name his father had chosen, and he didn't like it very much. But he couldn't do anything about it, so he was stuck with being called "Jounouchi" or "Jou." The latter more than the former in most cases.

"No, Yami, dat isn't all. He said 'Go away, Jounouchi.' Dude, he used my name, not puppy or mutt. My name, I'm afraid, Yami. I really am." Jounouchi finished, his honey-brown eyes looking back to the sleeping Kaiba.

Yami pondered this a moment, rocking back on his heals as he looked from Jou to Kaiba. Genuine worry echoed in Jou's eyes and genuine tiredness echoed on Kaiba's half-peaceful features. He stared at the CEO a moment and watched as the taller teen's lips formed one name, one name that was unmistakable.

_'Jounouchi. . . .' _

His own fear worked its way into his belly, kicking him hard in his gut moments afterward. Sighing deeply, he simply shook his head and stood up. Walking behind Kaiba, he poised his right index finger over the teen's exposed neck and turned to Jou.

"When I touch his neck, whisper his name, but with enough tone to it so he hears you." The Egyptian murmured, sure to keep his voice to just above a whisper. They had ten minutes to wake Kaiba, not get their asses kicked, and get back in their seats before Ainoko came. Good, this plan he had, and the back up one, wouldn't take nearly that long.

"Okay." Jou replied, his eyes still staring at Kaiba.

Yami touched Kaiba's neck, and without even looking up, Jounouchi whispered, "Seto!"

The brunette CEO jerked and opened his eyes. Seeing Jou kneeling there, his eyes locked dead onto Kaiba's he jumped in his seat, clearly frightened from just waking up and seeing a pair of rather large, worried-looking eyes staring right at him. Come on, anyone would be scared after that.

Yami manoeuvred around him, almost getting hit in the nose by Kaiba's head, and stood behind Jounouchi who was still kneeling on the floor. One, slender, thin-fingered hand touched Jou's shoulder, squeezed, and the quiet Egyptian was moving like liquid-silk back to his desk at the front of the room. Kaiba turned his gaze back to Jou and the sharpness returned swiftly to his eyes, like the gathering of electricity in a thunderstorm.

You could feel it in the air, but see it in the clouds. The calm before the storm had come and gone, and Jou was wishing more than anything he'd let the damned bastard sleep. What good could he have done waking him up. How little our dear Jounouchi really knew. How so very little.

"Why did you wake me?" Kaiba snapped.

Worriment flashed in those eyes long and clear enough so that Kaiba caught it before hurt and anger replaced it. Those honey-brown eyes flashed dangerously before Jounouchi sighed, pushing a golden lock of unruly hair from his face, tucking it behind one ear.

"Didn't want you to get in trouble for sleeping." Jounouchi said, hating himself that he had lied just then. Why didn't he say because he was worried? Oh, that's right, because he'd be sent to a mental institution faster than he could say 'aach!' and the men-in-the-white-coats didn't really like him all that much. Had he ever met them, no, but he had when his father had been taken away for awhile. Fun 'field trips' those had been.

"I didn't ask for you to keep me out of trouble." Kaiba snapped, his icy eyes darker than normal.

Jounouchi's eyes flashed with hurt and something else as he stood swiftly, and glared at Kaiba, his anger dancing around him, splitting the air currents like firewood. Kaiba could almost see the static heat coming from the other boy.

"Well next time I'll let you sleep, you ungrateful bastard." He snapped in return, his voice low and dark, before moving back to his desk and taking out his history book and flipping to the right chapter, beginning to check his homework.

Kaiba just stared incredulously at the blonde. Did he just speak properly? Did his voice just get deeper? And did he miss something important when he'd been sleeping? Apparently, because he was lost, and more than a little unnerved. Sighing, he took out his homework and history book, and began mimicking Jounouchi's idea of checking his work.

You thought you were there to guide me  
You were only in my way  
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you  
You thought you were there to guide me  
You were only in my way  
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you

When Ainoko-sama walked in, Kaiba was more than feeling guilty. And though all his answers were right, he'd make an 'A' on his work from the night before, he wondered why he kept sneaking glances at Jounouchi, the blonde never once looking at him. Usually by this time they were fighting or throwing small paper-triangles at each other. But no, not today, not lately. They'd left each other the hell alone, scaring not only themselves, but the teachers and principle as well.

Hell, if you can't scare them one at a time, go for the masses. It worked in business why not in school life? Because it wasn't supposed to.

* * *

"Okay, class, you can pack up your things. I have a special reading I want you all to hear today before we end the class and break for lunch." Ainoko-sama said softly, her voice flowing and gentle. A melody in the coming-of-spring breeze. If one listened close enough, they could hear the singing voice that lay hidden oh-so-well. Crystalline-blue eyes stared around at her class, watching as they all packed away their things before getting a book from her bag and showing them the cover. 

Japanese characters were seen engraved in silver into the ebony, leather-bound cover. She smiled when Yami's eyes lit up briefly. Shaking her head and laughing sweetly along with the class she held up a hand, settling them into silence instantly.

"This is a story I read to my students every year. It's simply titled 'Saving Innocence.' and is written by Jacquelyn Ahkentahept. She is an Egyptian author who came to Japan when she was twelve years old and wrote a book based on Japanese historical events. However, the people are based off those of Egyptian mythology." Ainoko-sama said, watching as Jounouchi's honey-brown eyes looked up at her when she mentioned the author's Egyptian name.

And to her utter amazement, though it didn't show, Seto Kaiba's eyes were trained fixedly on her as well. They both wanted to hear the story? Why weren't they fighting silently like usual? Shaking the thoughts from her head, she opened to the first page and smiled at her class, they all waited somewhat impatiently to hear what the story was and wanting her to hurry so that lunch could begin.

Not that it would matter. The bell rang the same time everyday. No earlier, no later.

I could be cold  
I could be ruthless  
You know I could be just like you

I could be weak  
I could be senseless  
You know I could be just like you

By the time she was done reading the first chapter the bell rang and she smiled, telling the class their homework assignment before dismissing them. She exited the room before the halls became to crowded. Jounouchi stayed at his desk, his eyes staring at a piece of paper that lay on the fine wood. On it was a note scribbled in neat, flowing penmanship. Yami had already slipped out of the classroom and Kaiba was moving towards the door, soon to be the last to leave besides himself.

Looking up he panicked and called after the brunette, "Kaiba!"

Icy midnight eyes snapped to him, an eyebrow raised. "I - Can I talk ta' ya for a few minutes?" Jounouchi asked, staring evenly at those eyes that unnerved so many of his friends. Kaiba seemed to think it over before nodding. Closing the door, he locked it without really thinking and looked at Jounouchi, watching as the blonde moved to the window, staring out at the school yard. Sunlight danced over his unruly golden locks making them shine as if covered in diamonds.

"I should apologize. I'm the one that woke you up. Gods only know how tired you really were." Jounouchi started softly. There it was again! That change of tone in his voice, making it deeper and Jounouchi was speaking properly. Kaiba blinked realizing the blonde teen was talking about the note he'd given him. Sighing deeply, he set his briefcase on a desk and moved a few steps closer to Jounouchi. He stopped, slipping his hands into his pockets in a rare sign of nervousness.

You thought you were standing beside me  
You were only in my way  
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you

"No." He said softly, Jounouchi didn't even hear him. Probably best he hadn't.

When he looked up again, hefound himself gettinglost in honey-brown eyes that sparkled with the backdrop of the afternoon sun. The scene itself was almost too much like his dreams. Except the roles were reversed. He was standing by the window and Jounouchi was standing in front of the door. Shaking his head slowly, he took a few steps closer.

Those honey-brown eyes looked at him oddly before he continued, his voice echoing and distant. "I'm sorry, alright, Kaiba? For being such an ass these last two and a half years. I'm sorry for dissing on you all those times, not knowing that you came from a childhood home like mine, just you made it better for yourself. . . . I'm still digging myself out of the hellhole." He paused, shaking his head and chuckling, the sound bitter and angry on some levels.

"Jounouchi, shut up for a minute." Kaiba said, his voice deeper than normal as well, his eyes having lost some of their icy indifference. He walked forward, closing the space between them, leaving only about two feet to keep them separated. His tone was serious when he spoke next. "Don't you apologize for things you can't explain. If you don't, than I won't either. Agreed?"

The blonde could only nod, amazed he'd said all he had. That he'd actually apologized to Kaiba. _The _Seto Kaiba, CEO of KaibaCorp. Sighing deeply, he ran a hand through his unruly golden hair, messing it up all the more and looked sheepishly up at Kaiba, his honey-brown eyes holding a hesitation that the CEO could have _sworn _he'd seen before.

_You thought you were there to guide me  
You were only in my way  
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you  
You thought you were there to guide me  
You were only in my way  
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you_

Unintentionally, he closed the distance once again, but Jounouchi moved forward as well, his eyes half-closed. Reaching out, Kaiba trailed his fingertips down the shorter teen's cheek, feeling how soft it was and wondering how that could be. His hand trailed down Jounouchi's neck, over his shoulder and down his arm finally finding his hand. That hand itself was smooth but calloused enough to indicate a job that required heavy lifting, or a workload that was hard on the hands.

Jounouchi shivered at the contact from the other and stepped closer to the warmth emitting from Kaiba, wanting to drown in it and knowing that if he did he wouldn't regret never coming up for oxygen. He'd die happy in that warmth and never regret it. Sighing shakily, he lifted his gaze to Kaiba's and once more found himself within only a few inches of the other's lips. Twice in one day. . . This was bound to mean _something. _But when Kaiba's hand gently squeezed his own, all thought ceased and he moved closer.

_On my own, cause I can't take liven with you  
I'm alone, so I won't turn out like you  
Want me to_

_You thought you were standing beside me  
You were only in my way  
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you_

"Jounouchi. . ." Kaiba's voice was husky and low, deep and smooth. It flowed over him like silk and he never wanted the feeling to leave him. His body craved and begged for more. Was this another dream? Was it possible it was real? Neither question had an answer, and he didn't really think he wanted to find one.

"Y-yes?" He asked, his voice hesitant, that word alone stammered from the heat that was already beginning to become intoxicating along with the scent of cinnamon that wafted from the tall brunette in front of him. It had to be a dream. . . It just had to be.

_You thought you were there to guide me  
You were only in my way  
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you  
You thought you were there to guide me  
You were only in my way  
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you_

"Do you hate me?" Kaiba asked, his lips mere inches from Jou's own.

The blonde teen shivered and thought of the answer. A few weeks ago, he would have kicked the other for being so close, screamed 'Of course I hate ya, ya dumb ass!' and run off screaming in pure fright. But now, standing here like this, half embraced by the young CEO of KaibaCorp, he realized; no, he didn't hate Seto Kaiba. What was there to really hate? Nothing.

"No." He replied.

Kaiba let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding afterhearing that answer. Without thinking, he gently brushed his lips over Jounouchi's before pulling back, his other hand came up and ran through Jounouchi's hair before falling to cradle the side of his face gently. The touch itself was tender, and the look that echoed deep in those icy midnight eyes would have scared the hell out of anyone else. But to Jounouchi, he'd never seen someone more beautiful than Seto Kaiba in that one moment.

_I could be mean  
I could be angry  
You know I could be just like you_

"I'll see you later. . . . puppy." He whispered, saying his age-old nickname for the blonde duellist like a pet name. Without another word or gesture, he walked swiftly towards the door, grabbing his briefcase without a second thought. And, after unlocking the door, sparing the stunned Jounouchi one last glance, he exited the room.

The silence echoed thickly, and Jounouchi finally snapped from his reverie to glance over at his desk where the note Kaiba had given him lay. The very note that had just gotten him kissed by Seto Kaiba himself. And for the first time in his life, Jounouchi felt like tomorrow might actually bring something better than storm clouds waiting to burst over his head, dropping the Gods only knew what.

And that simple note read, scribbled in Seto's neat, flowing handwriting:  
**I'm sorry.**

* * *

**End Chapter 1 of Forbidden Fruit**

Anyway, thanks to those that reviewed, and I hope to see you in the next chapter. That's all for now, minna-san.

-Wareta Shooki

_Last edited 2 / 15 / 05_


	3. Chapter 2

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

Again all notes at the bottom.  
I do not own "Prayer" by Disturbed.  
Read the prologue for the disclaimer.

* * *

Forbidden Fruit  
Chapter 2  
Starting Off

* * *

Katsuya Jounouchi leaned idly against the front of a sink in the boy's locker rooms after Physical Education Class, his hands clutching a note Kaiba had given him in English Comp. His honey-brown eyes were narrowed slightly, his expression neutral and virtually unreadable. Sighing, he looked up and noticed he was the only one left in the room as he waited for Kaiba to finish talking to Ieshige-sama, their Physical Ed. teacher.

He had already changed back into his school clothes, his unruly golden hair still damp from the shower he'd taken earlier, the locks themselves clumping slightly, but shimmering brilliantly. His cheeks were flushed still from the heat that still coated the room, the steam never really having left. The paper in his hands was smooth and felt as light as a feather from the damp coolness that surrounded him. Vaguely, he remembered the small, light brush of lips he had shared with Kaiba earlier in Ainoko-sama's classroom.

His flushed cheeks darkened to a pretty red before he re-read the letter, hoping he hadn't mixed up the times. That would seriously suck if he had. After all, Kaiba had said he'd see him later. But Jounouchi's idea of later was like tomorrow or that night. Not two and a half hours later. And yes, that amount of time was accurate. He'd been counting.

The note read simply:

**Puppy,  
Meet me in the boy's locker room after Physical Education class this afternoon. I'll talk with Ieshige-sama so that only you and myself are in the locker room. I wish to discuss what we. . . did earlier. And perhaps, continue what I'd started.  
Kaiba**

Yuugi had been the one to hand him the folded piece of paper when Kaiba had passed it. When he'd read it in Tawasawa-sama's class (English Comp.) he'd nearly did a bomb-shelled expression, having to fight extremely hard not to do so. However, he'd managed to keep his face neutral, his eyes shimmering oddly as he'd turned in his seat somewhat to nod his understanding and acceptance to Kaiba who'd, to his utter amazement, had been staring right at him, the weirdest look in those icy midnight eyes.

Looking back on it now, he realized that that look in those icy eyes had been apprehension brought on by fear of rejection. Did he honestly think Jou would turn him down? Hell, he'd all but ordered the blonde to meet him in the locker room. And yet, he'd still be afraid Jou would turn him down. Hmm, that fear had its possibilities.

_Another dream that will never come true  
Just to compliment your sorrow  
Another life that I've taken from you  
A gift to add on to your pain and suffering  
Another truth you can never believe  
Has crippled you completely  
All the cries you're beginning to hear  
Trapped in your mind, and the sound is deafening_

The door opened and Jounouchi closed his eyes, almost feeling Kaiba as he stepped into the room. The heat spread for him, allowing him to walk past and not feel it almost, like the air currents danced to whatever melody he heard that kept him sane and excelling in school. Jou opened his eyes, looking up to see those icy midnight eyes just a few feet away, and wondered if Kaiba's lips were as soft as they'd felt in that brief moment of time when they'd touched his own.

He folded the note, slipping it into his book bag that rested on the sink behind him without even turning to see if it went in the right part or not. If not, he'd search for it later. The heat apparently wouldn't listen to Kaiba's melody for long for his cheeks had already begun to tint pink, the paleness of his features all the more prominent. And as Jounouchi thought about it, pondered over it, he realized Kaiba could really be blushing.

No matter what it was, he wanted to feel the heat that was only Kaiba, he wanted to drown in it completely. He wanted so much and not only did his mind agree, but so did his heart and body. Something about Kaiba was different when it was just the two of them, and something was also different when they happened to pass each other in public.

He reached out a hand and closed the distance between them, touching Kaiba's cheek slowly, hesitantly, as if wondering if he were still dreaming. When Kaiba's eyes closed and he nudged Jou's hand, the blonde knew he wasn't dreaming. This was real. He was standing here, in reality, touching Seto Kaiba, wanting to kiss him deeply, and still reframed. Why? He looked away, pulling his hand from Kaiba's cheek, replacing it at his side as he retreated back to lean against that sink once more.

Apparently Kaiba wasn't the only one afraid of rejection. Or getting hurt. It affects even the best of us.

_Let me enlighten you  
This is the way I pray_

_Living just isn't hard enough  
Burn me alive, inside  
Living my life's not hard enough  
Take everything away_

Kaiba opened his eyes when he felt Jou's warmth leave him. Looking at the blonde who stood so silently, so still, leaning against that sink unnerved him. Raw pain echoed in what he could see of those honey-brown eyes, half hidden beneath a curtain of damp, unruly golden tresses that were probably as soft as silk. They looked like it, and the CEO felt his hand twitch, wanting to find out personally.

Moving closer, slowly, as if he were a predator trying not to frighten away his prey, he came to stand in front of Jounouchi, his icy midnight eyes softening, losing the ice that the blonde was oh-so accustomed to. Hooking an index finger under the other's chin, he lifted it so their gazes met and locked. He searched those eyes and wondered what it was he saw dancing just beyond reach, just beyond true sight in those eyes that looked so very much like dark honey.

He felt himself drowning and didn't care to pull himself away from that gaze. He didn't want to feel safe away from this warmth, he didn't want to turn and leave, laughing at some joke the blonde didn't get. Those eyes stared at him as a mixture of emotions flashed in countless expressions across Jounouchi's face, none of them ever reaching his eyes.

"Jounouchi. . . ." He whispered, barely recognizing his own low, dark, and husky voice. Jounouchi shivered where he was half-pressed against him and Kaiba's body sprang to life, reacting before he could will it not to. Hopefully, the blonde wouldn't notice. "Why are you afraid?" He asked, his eyes still searching the other's reverently, hoping to find something there that he could latch onto, something he could coax and prod into believing he was sincere about this.

Whatever the hell 'this' was.

_Another nightmare about to come true  
Will manifest tomorrow  
Another love that I've taken from you  
Lost in time, one the edge of suffering  
Another taste of the evil I breed  
Will level you completely  
Bring life to everything that you fear  
Live in the dark, and the world is threatening_

"I - I don't know." There, once again, that voice was deeper than normal, and he spoke properly. Was all that trash-talk, all that improper speech, a sham? A cover-up for the intelligence that lay hidden beneath the surface. The truth of Jounouchi's words hit him hard as it covered his features, but didn't mask that raw pain and fear in his eyes. Kaiba then realized the blonde's eyes mirrored his own emotions, the very emotions that mirrored the ones Jou must be feeling.

"Puppy," he murmured, leaning closer so that their lips were barely brushing when he spoke, "I'm not joking, I won't hurt you. Never again." To emphasize his words, Kaiba fully pressed his lips against the blonde's, the hand whose index finger was hooked under his chin moving to rest at the nape of his neck. Jou whimpered softly but pressed closer to the taller teen, his body moving against Kaiba's, making the boy moan softly, barely coherent, in the back of his throat.

Kaiba licked the blonde's lips, growling softly in pleasure when the other opened for him. He didn't waste time divulging his tongue into the other's mouth, feeling Jou's hands spring to life, one resting on his hip, the other ghosting up his shirt to feel the warm, pale, pale skin beneath. He ran his tongue along Jou's, feeling the other stiffen slightly before mewling his liking of the action. Repeating it the two soon found themselves locked in a battle for dominance.

Jounouchi eventually succumbed to Kaiba, letting the other kiss him senseless before they both pulled back, needing the oxygen that had be denied them for the past minute or so. Jounouchi opened his eyes slowly, resting his forehead on Kaiba's shoulder. The heat of the room had spiked and it was definitely warmer than it had been five minutes before. Pulling back to look at him, he felt the arm wrapped around his waist tighten its hold, clearly afraid that he'd leave.

Let me enlighten you  
This is the way I pray

Living just isn't hard enough  
Burn me alive, inside  
Living my life's not hard enough  
Take everything away

Chuckling softly, Jou looked up into lust ridden, liquefied midnight eyes and shivered at what moved behind them. There was something. . . inhuman behind those eyes. Like there was in Yami's crimson ones, but this - beast for lack of better term - was much different and much more cunning. It was an ancient magick, something he had no knowledge of but as he watched that beast shift again before resting fully against Kaiba's eyes he wanted to get to know Kaiba in more ways then one.

It was then he felt something hard pressing against him and he blushed darkly, realizing he, too, was aroused. From a kiss? Shit, either Kaiba was good, or Jou seriously needed to learn how to put a collar and leash on his emotions. The latter seemed more probable than the first, but he was willing to agree with both.

"Katsuya," the name was soft-spoken, but it startled him all the more hearing it from Kaiba. He blinked, staring into the other's eyes, still seeing the beast. It looked intrigued, like what it saw was interesting and it wanted to learn more about it. Great, he'd gotten the power inside Kaiba's attention, now how to keep it.

"That was . . . . that was a-amazing. . . .Seto." He whispered, his eyes still half-open as he stared into those midnight ones that were so much like the night skies just before full dark and just after twilight. It was his favourite time of night. Probably because it reminded him so much of the brunette's eyes. And right then, he knew why. He liked what he saw and wanted much more.

As they began kissing again, more heat and passion in the kiss this time, a ringing sounded. Jounouchi growled softly but ignored it until it grew louder. Pulling away from Kaiba reluctantly, clearly irritated, he turned around, digging in his bag for his cell phone. Flipping it open, he growled, his voice none too nice.

"What?" He all but snapped. He deserved a good explanation for what this idiot had just interrupted.

A soft chuckle sounded from the other end. Kaiba moved forward, pressing himself against Jounouchi from behind, making the blonde have to fight back a whimper as the taller teen began kissing his neck, brushing aside his hair, his arms wrapped around his waist.

"Well, Katsuya, I'm quite disappointed in you. No 'hello' anymore when answering your phone. Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Jounouchi paled as he stared at the mirror, watching Kaiba suck and nip at his neck, his erection still pressed against him. Shivering slightly he sighed deeply and leaned his head to the side, allowing Kaiba more room to kiss him. Damn it, why did Yami have to call right then? Argh!

"Sorry, Yami. I didn't look at the number." He replied sheepishly, grunting softly when Kaiba bit his neck, thrusting his hips almost innocently forward.

A pause followed his grunt. "Is everything alright, Katsuya?" the ancient Pharaoh asked.

Jou nodded, realized his friend's boyfriend couldn't see him and replied rather shakily, "Yeah. Sorry. . . C-can I call you b-back, I'm really b-busy right now."

That wasn't a lie, he was busy. Well - Kaiba was. The brunette's hands were lifting up his shirt, his hands ghosting over the heated skin that lay beneath. Jounouchi sighed deeply and gently dug his heel into Kaiba's foot. The other backed off, but didn't release him. Well then, he knew what to do now. Step on the boy's foot and he'd leave you alone. Not for long he was about to find out.

Apparently Kaiba's hands liked to explore places when it wasn't the best time.

Return to me  
Leave me no one  
Turn to me  
Return to me  
Cast aside

You've made me turn away

"Sure," Yami replied eventually after what had to be a pause that lasted an eternity. "Just remember to be at the Game Shop by seven."

Jounouchi went to look at his watch and cursed realizing he'd left it at home that day. Kaiba's hands were moving lower and lower, dancing over his thighs now. The sexual need rode the air so thickly now you could have cut it with a knife. Shivering slightly as he all but collapsed against the young CEO, Jounouchi whispered almost huskily into the phone, "Yami, what time is it now? I left my watch at home today." The minute the words left his mouth and Kaiba froze he wished he could take them back.

"Jou, where are you?" That was Yuugi's voice. Great, add to the list of things to embarrass him.

"Umm. . . ." he glanced at Kaiba in the mirror, seeing a raw need in those icy midnight eyes that almost frightened him, but instead of frightening him, it only served to excite him more. Even better. Peachy even. Damn! "I'm still at school. I had to talk Ieshige-sama about something."

"Oh. It's about six o'clock now. We're gonna order pizza, so please, don't be late." Yuugi was always so innocent, so understanding. And right then Jounouchi felt so terrible for lying to him like he had. But if the amethyst-eyed teen knew what situation he was in right then, the boy would have shit a brick, literally or figuratively, Jounouchi didn't really want to know nor find out for that matter. If Yami knew. . . the Shadow Realm was supposed to be beautiful this time of year.

He shivered again and it wasn't from pleasure.

"Okay, I promise I won't be late. See you in a few." Jounouchi hung up the phone and tossed it into his bag. Turning around in Kaiba's arms to face the brunette he wished more than anything he'd turned his cell phone off before meeting the other here.

"You have to go?" Kaiba whispered, kissing his lips softly.

"Yeah. . . Unfortunately." Jou whispered back, running his hands through the CEO's rich brown hair and pulling him closer for a deep, fiery-passionate kiss. "I forgot I promised to stay the night at Yuugi's tonight. Bakura, Ryou, Otogi, and Honda are gonna be there. Kind of like a guy's night out or something. . . ."

Kaiba placed a finger on his lips before he could begin to ramble. "It's alright. I understand." A hurt look ricocheted off invisible walls in his eyes, before it was carefully hidden behind an icy mask. Jounouchi grabbed Kaiba's hand before the brunette could fully turn and leave. Midnight eyes stared at him questioningly.

"I could call them back and ask if you could come. . . ." Jou murmured, his voice barely audible. Kaiba's eyes widened and he made a sound that was almost a laugh. He pulled Jou close to him, his arousal surprisingly gone (damn he _was_ good) and simply held the blonde. Jou nuzzled his face in the crook of the taller teen's neck before he felt the other pull back.

"Tomorrow's Saturday. Come by my office at KaibaCorp and maybe we can spend some time togetherthen. I had work to do tonight anyway." Kaiba said, knowing he was being only half truthful about the work. In all honesty, he'd finished it last night, having been bored out of his mind and very tired. Jou's honey-brown eyes narrowed critically but eventually he bought his story.

The two kissed one last time before Jou watched Kaiba walk to the door - why was it that he was always the first one to leave- before turning and looking back at him. Those icy midnight eyes were like they'd always been, no trace of the tender emotion that had shown out from them a few minutes before at all present. Jou watched the other sigh before he shook his head.

"I'll see you tomorrow, puppy." Kaiba said, his voice, though soft, carried and he was gone before Jounouchi could reply.

Making sure he had all his stuff, Jounouchi soon followed. What the hell was he and Kaiba considered now? Enemies? No, not possible. After all, he'd said earlier that he didn't hate Kaiba, and now that he remembered the times before, he didn't really hate him then, either. It was just Kaiba had been an egotistical jerk and things of that nature. He'd been irritated that the brunette had turned his spawn-of-hell life around and made it much better when he, himself, was still trying to kill the spawn-of-hell that was sitting on his front doorstep and dig himself out of the hellhole the thing had created.

With a sigh, he caught the bus and rode to Yuugi's house, hoping tonight would bring some good to him. A smile that was so pure in its emotion, and so genuine it was almost scary, lifted his lips and he wondered right then what Kaiba was thinking about. He wondered if he'd be smiling like he was now if he knew what Jounouchi was thinking. That smile faded slightly as he schooled his features when the bus came to his stop. Getting off, he look at the fading light in the sky and watched the indigo night slowly creep in.

It was perhaps the first time he'd actually admired the sunset without hating it for it meant that the next day would come soon after the night and he'd be forced to push through another day in the hell that was his life. As he walked the block left to Yuugi's house, he remembered the feel of Kaiba against him, both in the locker room, in Ainoko-sama's classroom, and in his dreams. It all felt so right. . . .And he never wanted whatever they'd formed, or started, to end.

Because endings for him were tough and bittersweet. . . .This new thing with Kaiba wasn't and he liked it. He liked it a lot. Here was hoping luck didn't decide to crap on his good karma again. Here was hoping he'd keep this thing with Kaiba for some time - at least until he turned his life around.

And with the way things were going, that looked to be very soon.

Very soon indeed.

Living just isn't hard enough  
Burn me alive, inside  
Living my life's not hard enough  
Take everything away

* * *

**End Chapter 2 of Forbidden Fruit**

Wow, okay, I'm really surprised at how good I've been doing with updating everyday and how I've kept this story's plot well hidden. But don't worry, it won't be centred _completely _on Jounouchi and Kaiba's relationship. . . .If that's what you'd call this. The evil plot bunny is awake and working.

Playing Goddess is quite fun. So, anyway, thanks for all the reviews and keep 'em comin'. Also, I need to thank **Felidae **for the wonderful review. I was smiling and laughing at the same time as crying from the genuine-ness of your review. Please, keep reviewing. I need laughs. And cookies, I ran out of those a while ago.

Arigatou, minna-san for the reviews!  
-Wareta Shooki

Last edited 12 / 18 / 05


	4. Chapter 3

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

Notes at bottom.  
Thanks to those who've reviewed.  
Read the prologue for disclaimer.

* * *

Forbidden Fruit  
Chapter 3  
Idle Chaos

* * *

Sunlight beat down on him from above and the sound of busy passer-by pressed in on him from all sides. But the sky the sun sat against was a brilliant blue, hardly a cloud in sight, the sound of the busy passer-by barely heard to him. 

Jounouchi looked himself over. He'd worn black cargo pants that were only slightly baggy on his rather thin form, accenting the muscles in his legs as he walked. He'd worn black combat boots he'd bought a few weeks before. Toping it all off was a black T-shirt with three lines of Egyptian hieroglyphs on the left side of the shirt that read simply, "Never mess with what you don't understand" in silver colouring against a twilight painting of an Egyptian night sky.

He sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair and hoping that Kaiba wasn't really all that busy today so they could spend some time together. He'd felt really bad about having to leave early during their. . . make-out session, if you'd call it that. He'd stopped by his home (it's really an apartment) to drop off his school bag and bag of extra clothes he'd brought to Yuugi's, grabbed some money from the safe under his bed and set off.

As he reached KaibaCorp, he stared up at the huge building that many believed was taller than Tokyo Tower, which stood at roughly 333 meters. The early afternoon sunlight reflected off the many windows and made the structure gleam brightly, like a beacon of hope for the blonde. At the thought he snickered, shifted a little before placing his hands in his pockets and entering the front gates.

He walked up to the front doors and wasn't surprised when they opened and a computerized voice welcomed him to KaibaCorperations. Trust Kaiba to go all out for his company. Jounouchi briefly remembered a time when the brunette CEO had lost his company to Dartz, an Atlantian that had survived ten thousand years. . . .He'd rather not remember all of that. It hadn't been too nice.

Sighing once again, he walked up to the front desk, staring into the brown eyes of a young woman, one who didn't look happy. He smiled brightly, his honey-brown eyes sparkling as he approached the counter and leaned against it casually, his eyes staring into hers and never wavering, despite the glare she was giving him.

"Hello. I'm here to see Seto Kaiba." Jounouchi said pleasantly, not willing to let much of anything ruin this day for him.

Those brown eyes narrowed and she surprised him when she smiled and muttered darkly at the same time, "Isn't everybody." before speaking truly to him, that smile actually hitting her eyes now, making them look deadly in their brightness. Jou fought the urge to run and hide behind a plant or something. Just the thought of doing something like that made him want to laugh at the look it would cause to befall the young girl's face. But, as entertaining as the notion was, he reframed.

"Yes, sir. His office is the seventh floor, last door on the left down the second hall on your right." She replied, tucking a stray strand of black hair behind an ear.

He nodded, saying the directions over and over before walking to the elevator and stepping in. Pressing the number seven for the floor of Kaiba's office, he leaned against the walls, listening to the soft, almost mystical melody playing from the hidden speakers. He chuckled to himself, bowing his head. Suddenly the elevator stopped and his eyes shot to the floor number highlighted above the doors. It was number three.

What the hell?

It was then the doors opened and a teen that stood to his shoulder walked in, violet-sapphire eyes alight with a knowledge no teenager in their right mind would want to possess. He was dressed much like Jou would think Yuugi would be dressed. The kid wore black leather pants over calf-high black boots, a black leather, sleeveless shirt, and a black leather coat that trailed along the ground.

He then realized he was possibly staring into the older form of Mokuba Kaiba. When the teen smiled at him, he nodded slightly, knowing he was staring at Mokuba. It was odd seeing the kid rebel like he had, going gothic and dressing in leather. Did Kaiba know about this? Probably. And the first time he'd seen his kid brother dress like this, he must have shit a brick and that brick must have hit the ceiling fan.

"What did your brother say about you dressing that way?" He asked, his hands still in his pockets as he stared at the black-haired Kaiba brother.

Mokuba chuckled. "He didn't like it, but he got used to it." Those violet-sapphire eyes regarded him a moment as the elevator continued rising towards the seventh floor. Then realization dawned on those dark features and those violet-blue eyes widened. "Holy. . .! Jou!"

The blonde chuckled lowly, nodding. "It seems Kaiba will have two surprises today." He commented, eyeing Mokuba to emphasize his point.

Mokuba shook his head, his hair falling into his face slightly. "Nope, not really. I just - Wow, Jou. You look really good. Can I please be there when Seto sees you?" The kid was all but begging him.

Jou shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to see him right now."

The two fell into silence until the elevator stopped, letting them off at the seventh floor. Jou chatted with Mokuba absently as the two made their way to Kaiba's office, listening to the silence that encompassed the floor. It was like the entire building was disserted.

"Mokuba?"

"Huh?"

"Why is it so damn quiet?"

Mokuba laughed softly. "Seto didn't like all the noise from the employees so he had the walls coated with a special paint that keeps the noise muffled. Sometimes you can't hear it at all. Like today," the black-haired teen replied, his eyes shining with hidden laughter.

Jounouchi nodded and blinked when they stopped in front of the door. Yelling could be heard from behind the door and Jou raised an eyebrow, looking down at Mokuba. A sigh was his only answer before he pushed the door open and followed the younger Kaiba brother inside.

The moment those icy-midnight eyes looked up and spotted his brother, an all out war broke. The two began yelling at each other in German, or that's what Jou thought they were speaking in, and the person sitting in one of the two leather chairs in front of Kaiba's desk looked horrified before they doubled over in silent laughter.

Finally the yelling stopped and Mokuba giggled, turning to the 'guest', bowing deeply. She nodded her head in return before glancing at Kaiba and finally spotting Jou who was leaning against the door frame, cautiously watching the occupants in fear that if he so much as breathed too loudly he'd get eaten. He chuckled softly and walked inside, bowing to the woman and looking at Kaiba.

He promptly did a double take.

Icy midnight eyes were wide as they stared at him, taking him in from his feet to his head then back down again finally resting on his eyes. It was clear the taller teen was surprised, if not completely caught off guard. Jounouchi raised an eyebrow before glancing pointedly at the woman who was giggling softly with Mokuba.

"Hey, Kaiba." Jou said, his voice low and deep, almost a purr. Kaiba blinked, the surprise falling away, but not completely leaving. There it was again. The puppy's voice got deeper, lower, and he spoke properly. Seriously, did he do that just when he was around him and other people, just to unnerve him? Or was this how he really sounded, just no one noticed? Kaiba sighed and nodded moving to sit in the chair behind his desk as he stared at the woman before him.

"Fahren, why are you here?" He asked, his voice icy and indifferent. Jounouchi sighed quietly, taking up the seat beside the woman named Fahren.

She blinked innocent cerulean eyes at him. "You know why I'm here, Kaiba." She replied, her voice melodic ice that matched the CEO's almost perfectly.

Jou and Mokuba shared a fearful look.

"I told you, Fahren, I don't believe in magick. Now get out of my office and leave me be." Kaiba replied, his voice holding a warning only Jounouchi understood. He'd heard it so many times before getting into a fist fight with the brunette that he'd know it anywhere.

"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt, but. . . Miss Fahren, perhaps you should listen to Kaiba. He doesn't believe in magick, trust me, I know. I've talked about it around him enough to get my ass kicked quite a few times -"

"More than a few, puppy."

"- but still. . . ." Jounouchi shrugged and shook his head, running a hand through his hair.

Fahren's cerulean eyes flashed slightly with understanding and she smiled good-naturedly, a few strands of her ruby hair falling from her pony-tail. "I understand. Perhaps I should listen to you. . . .After all, Kaiba doesn't think outside the box. And if what Mokuba's told me is true, maybe you can help him finally see beyond what he already does."

With those slightly confusing words, she stood in a whirl of black skirts and shook his hand, soon departing from the room. Jounouchi stared after her before sinking further in his chair and shivering, hugging himself. His eyes drifted closed before he relaxed and sighed silently. When he opened his eyes he saw Kaiba was staring at him questioningly. He shook his head.

"It's nothin'." He replied to the unspoken question.

"Well. . . ." Mokuba began before rambling on. "Seto, Roland said everything's ready to launch, just as soon as tech-support gets your figures, they'll be able to start it up for a test-run."

Kaiba nodded and Mokuba left the office, leaving the CEO and Jounouchi to stare at anything but each other for awhile. Soon the silence grew so thick, Jounouchi began to fidget, wondering how Kaiba could sit there, not even say hello, and not get bothered by the silence. Then he remembered what Mokuba had said and nearly hit himself for his moment of stupidity.

Standing up he walked over to one of the windows that completely lined the wall behind Kaiba's desk. He lifted his right hand, hovering it over the glass and stared out at the street and city below. It was only three o'clock in the afternoon and already the evening rush-hour had begun. He let his right hand touch the glass gently, barely even feeling the coolness from it before placing that hand on the window sill across from his left.

Kaiba stood up and came up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist. Jounouchi straightened, leaning back against the brunette without saying a word and let the other hold him, enjoying the feeling he had when in the other's arms. It was like nothing in the world could harm him and he knew that nothing could. As long as he was near Kaiba, even his father in one of his drunken states couldn't touch him. Wouldn't dare.

Finally, he broke the silence, needing to hear the voice that had haunted his dreams the night before. "Kaiba. . . . What are we now?" He whispered, but knew the other heard him, even if he hardly heard himself.

Kaiba loosened his hold, letting Jou turn around to face him and to stare up into those midnight eyes that were liquefied, blue, blue irises. Kaiba, in turn, stared into honey-brown eyes that looked amber more than anything else at the moment and let his gaze drop to the lips that were barely twitching, opened slightly with Jou's breathing. He leaned down unconsciously and kissed the blonde, feeling the other shudder against him.

Pulling back and chuckling at the whimpered response, he answered softly, "What do you want us to be?"

Jou paused for a moment, almost afraid to give his answer. He pulled back and stepped away from Kaiba's arms, beginning to pace. He finally stood still in the middle of the room, turning to stare at Kaiba who had never taken his eyes off him. He watched as the other walked closer to him, his eyes blinking only now and then. It wasn't long before the brunette stood before him, his hand resting gently against Jounouchi's cheek.

"In your eyes, what am I now?" Jounouchi asked, staring into those eyes, staring into the eyes that were only Seto Kaiba's, that made the already gorgeous brunette all the more beautiful.

"You're my boyfriend." Kaiba replied softly, huskily, before leaning down and recapturing Jou's lips in a heated kiss. The blonde moaned, his hands gripping Kaiba's biceps as he kissed back, opening his mouth for the other. It wasn't long before their tongues met in a furious battle for dominance once more and, like before, Jounouchi let Kaiba win.

Eventually they pulled apart and Jounouchi rested his head on Kaiba's shoulder, his hands having fallen to the other's hips where they rested docilely. Kaiba was absently stroking his back, his lips pressed against his neck, gently moving against the sensitive flesh. Jou mewled softly, titling his head to the side, allowing the other to kiss his neck, hopefully, without any interruptions this time.

As Kaiba kissed his neck, Jounouchi remembered the dream he'd had the night before, only bits and pieces, but it felt so real.

_Kaiba pushed him up against a wall, having removed his shirt only minutes before, now kissing down his neck and chest, stopping to fondle an erect nipple. Jounouchi moaned as those hands moved lower and lower, finally resting over the bulge in his pants, rubbing against the erection pressing against the material of his jeans._

_"Do you want me, Katsuya?" Kaiba whispered against his stomach, his hands working to remove Jou's pants._

_The blonde could only nod._

His eyes snapped open and he realized Kaiba was removing his shirt now, his cool hands feeling so good against his heated flesh. He raised his arms, letting Kaiba remove the material as he moved to sit on the corner of Kaiba's oak-wood desk, feeling the other's lips move from his neck, over his clavicle, and down his chest. Those hands drew idle circles on his thighs.

Gods, did the guy know what he did to him? It was wonderful, the emotions that were rekindled inside him, brought to a flaming inferno by Kaiba's mere touch alone. Jounouchi gripped the desk tightly, leaning his head back as he moaned deep in his throat, Kaiba's name barely heard on his voice.

As Kaiba began unzipping Jou's pants a knock sounded on the door. Kaiba literally groaned in irritation, leaning his head against Jou's shoulder, his hands still hovering over the boy's zipper. The knock came again before a pause and another knock. Damn it, they weren't going away.

"What?" Kaiba asked sharply, causing Jounouchi to jump then groan low in his throat. Kaiba stared pointedly at him, telling him silently not to talk nor make too much noise. If they played their cards right, they might get back to what they were doing.

"M-Mr. Kaiba," a shaky voice called through the wood - it was his secretary - "Mokuba-san asked me to ask if you wanted Chinese or Italian food for dinner."

Kaiba wanted to punch his brother right then. Oooh, they'd have one hell of a conversation when they got home. He slowly unzipped Jou's pants, his lips resting against the others to stifle the moan he knew was going to come when the other's throbbing cock was released. Releasing the blonde's lips he sighed deeply.

"Tell him I'm not hungry." Kaiba called back.

"Y-yes, sir."

He listened until he heard the woman's footsteps fade away down the hall. Looking back at Jounouchi he almost laughed at the sight that greeted him. The boy's already unruly golden hair was sticking up more than normal, his cheeks were flushed with passion and need, his honey-brown eyes were amber as they stared at him, half-closed.

Kaiba kissed a trail down the blonde's body, feeling calloused hands work their way into his thick, rich brown hair as he neared Jounouchi's freed erection. He'd barely pressed his lips to the throbbing appendage when another knock sounded. Growling in full-fledge anger now, Kaiba grunted and lifted himself from where he'd been bent over Jounouchi's lap and snapped, "What is it now?"

A soft chuckle sounded. "Sorry, big bro, but I wanted to know what you wanted me to pick up for dinner." Mokuba's voice wafted through the door. Jounouchi grunted this time in irritation, his hands massaging Kaiba's shoulders now, telling him to simply ignore the person on the other side of the door.

Kaiba sighed deeply. "I'm not hungry, Mokuba." He replied, hoping this time, the black-haired teen would listen.

"I know you're lying. Just tell me what you want me to get." Mokuba called back, the smirk clear in his tone of voice.

Jounouchi whimpered softly and nudged Kaiba's shoulder with his head, biting him tenderly on his neck. When icy midnight eyes turned to him, he nodded and kissed him long and deep. Kaiba, irritated and extremely aroused now, tucked Jounouchi's member back into his pants, and re-zipped him. Stepping back, he let the blonde jump off his desk and go searching for his shirt.

"Even if I tell you to get something you're not going to go away are you?" Kaiba called, sitting in his chair behind his desk. Jounouchi walked over to stand behind him, looking so calm and collected. Though if you looked at his pants, you could see he was far from that. Kaiba shivered when Jou's hands ghosted over his shoulders before crossing over the back of his chair, the blonde resting his chin atop them, staring at the door.

Mokuba, being the smart kid he is, walked in right then, seeing how the two were standing and the dark look Jou was giving him. Smiling sheepishly, he gave the blonde an apologetic look and then turned his gaze to his brother who didn't look at all happy with him either. Jeez, what had they been - OHHHHH!

Blushing slightly he hunched his shoulders and placed his fidgeting hands in his pockets and stared at the two. They really did make a good couple. And if they weren't giving him nearly identical glares of pure aroused irritation, Mokuba never would have guessed they'd been in the middle of foreplay that could have amounted to something much more.

"Sorry for interrupting. . . ." He murmured, clearly embarrassed now.

"Mokuba," Jounouchi said softly, his eyes having lost some of their glare but not by much, "pick up Chinese, 'kay?"

The black-haired teen eyed him critically. "Why? I thought Seto said he wasn't hungry?"

Kaiba snorted. "Jounouchi's staying for dinner. Just pick up Chinese."

Mokuba sighed and nodded, then turned to Jounouchi. "What do you want, Jou?"

The blonde shrugged. "Eh, I don't care. Just get me whatever you think I'll want, I like all the stuff they make." Jou then rethought his words and gave Mokuba a pointed stare. "Just nothing that looks like it will try to eat me first."

Mokuba's eyes lost their shine. "Aw. . . . That just ruined it. Oh well, fine. I'll meet you guys at the house. Just. . . like post a sign outside the door if you're doing something I don't wanna walk in on, okay?"

Jounouchi blushed and Mokuba could have sworn his brother did as well. Waving to them, he ran out the door just as a pencil lodged itself into the wood of the closed door. Jounouchi laughed softly, stepping away from Kaiba's chair and turning it so he faced the blonde. Kaiba raised an eyebrow, his eyes sparkling in a knowingly mischievous way.

"How long will it take Mokuba to get food from the Chinese restaurant in town and make it back to your house?" Jounouchi asked, moving so he straddled the brunette.

"Long enough." Kaiba replied, pulling the other into a deep, passionate kiss. Pulling back, he chuckled and ducked his hands under Jounouchi's shirt. "Until then, let's play."

* * *

End Chapter 3 of Forbidden Fruit

Eek, I feel so bad for them. They keep getting interrupted. But don't worry, they'll have their chance. . . soon enough. :she cackles almost evilly, the evil plot bunny smiling just as evilly as she's laughing: Okay, well enough of my evil laughter and the smiles of my evil plot bunny that serves as my muse - for now. My other one died. . . He was too closed minded.

I still weep for him sometimes. Anyway, thanks once again to all who reviewed and **GiddySchoolGirl**, just know that chapter 6, when it comes, is dedicated to you. Once again, I need reviews and cookies. Lots of cookies so I can be hyper and keep typing more chapters.

Oh, and there will probably be ten to thirteen chapters total and perhaps a sequel, depending on how good this story works out. Anoo. . . that's all for chapter 3. Thanks for readin'!

Arigatou, minna-san!  
-Wareta Shooki

Last Edited 2 / 19 / 05


	5. Chapter 4

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

All notes at bottom.  
Thanks to all who reviewed.  
Read the damned prologue for the disclaimer.

* * *

Forbidden Fruit  
Chapter 4  
Walking the Killing Edge  
Part 1

* * *

The room was silent, eerily so, as the silence of the midnight hour stretched on. Only slight moans echoed now and again as the figure on the bed beneath the window tossed and turned, caught in the throws of some dark dream bent on haunting him from now until eternity. White sheets glittered silver in the moonlight that spilled in through the window, bathing the room in a dancing silvery-glow. 

A soft moan of what one might consider pain echoed from the figure on the bed's mouth as he continued to toss and turn. Finally, the midnight hour of the night was silent once again in that lone room as the figure laying upon the half-torn-apart bed lay still and breathing deeply. Honey-brown eyes glowed amber in the moonlight as they stared wide and open at the ceiling.

"How is it I'm always haunted by him in my dreams?" Katsuya Jounouchi whispered, his eyes closing briefly before he sighed, throwing back the sheets of his bed and sitting up, clad in only his black boxers as he let his feet hang off the side of the bed, his hands gripping the sheet-clad mattress beneath him. Sighing dejectedly, he rose stiffly, stretching lithely before glancing out his window at the moon.

Then his honey-brown eyes travelled to the clock on his dresser and he groaned lowly in irritation. It was only twelve fifteen and he knew he'd never get back to sleep. Not after a dream like _that_. Jeez, who'd want to go back to a dream like that? Jounouchi shivered as he searched his floor for his discarded pair of jeans before slipping them on. That dream had just been plain _wrong_, there was no other word for it.

"Damn it, I'm still shakin'." Jou muttered as he crossed his room to the door, opened it and slipped out into the hall. His feet didn't make any noise on the carpet as he walked down the small hall as he walked towards the kitchen. A grunt sounded from the living room as he walked behind the couch, causing the blonde teen to freeze mid-step, eyes almost impossibly wide with fear.

When no other sound but the sleep-laden breathing of his father echoed after the grunt, Jounouchi heaved a silent sigh of deep relief and continued on his trek towards the kitchen. He hissed through his clenched teeth as his bare feet made contact with the bare-tile floor. It was cold, damn it! Very cold!

Rubbing his now goose-bump covered, bare arms, Jou expertly opened the refrigerator door with his left foot and searched through the contents, trying to ignore the smell that wafted from the interior. Finding a clear bottle of equally pure, clear liquid, he grabbed the water bottle and silently, but with extreme haste, closed the refrigerator door and backed away.

"Che, dat shit smells." He cursed softly, popping the top of the water bottle off and drinking some. As he tip-toed past his father, he held his breath hoping against hope the bastard wouldn't randomly sit up and catch him out of bed at such a late hour. His honey-brown eyes subconsciously glanced down to the bruise that covered half his right wrist, dark and purple, angry and evil looking.

Even Kaiba had commented on that after they'd been interrupted some fifteen times after Mokuba had left to get dinner. Jou had told him he'd fallen in the kitchen, his stupid father having scared the living hell out of him. The way he told the story, it made it sound like his father scaring the hell out of him was habitual. And it was. . . just not as bland and easy-going as Jounouchi had made it out to be for Kaiba.

Walking calmly, silently down the hall back to his room, Jounouchi slipped back inside, closing the door behind him. Sitting down on his bed, staring at the closed and now locked door, the blonde drank the water he'd "stolen" from the fridge calmly. That dream still unnerved him, not to mention scared him beyond all reasoning. He wondered briefly if he should call Kaiba.

Then he scoffed. _'Yeah right, Jou. Get a grip. It was a dream, nothing more or less.' _He chided himself before finishing the water bottle, throwing it in the trash can by the dresser to the left of the door and shucked off his jeans. Climbing back into bed, he stared out the closed window at the moonlight that caused his hair to shine and his eyes to glow amber in the surrounding darkness of his room. As his eyes drifted closed, he hoped - no prayed - that the feeling he was being watched was only his imagination.

Lucky for him, he didn't see the flash of cerulean eyes gleam in the shadows before they disappeared entirely.

The nightly wind outside echoed a single phrase:  
**_Haunted dreamers beware, it's time for the ultimate scare._**

* * *

Seto Kaiba shot up in bed panting heavily and listening as his brother screamed shrilly down the hall. It wasn't the screaming one would expect to hear when another was caught in the throws of a nightmare. No, these were the screams of one caught in the grips of real-life terror. The screams of one whose life was being threatened and they'd be damned if they were helped before they died screaming. 

Without thinking, Kaiba shot out of bed, clothed in only a pair of black, draw-string pants as he flung open his bedroom door and ran down the impossibly long hall to his little brother's bedroom. The door had been literally blown off its hinges and half lay on the floor, being held on by only a few pieces of splintered wood. Icy midnight eyes widened as he saw his brother staring at a cloaked figure that stood over the bed with a gleaming dagger raised. Black liquid already coated the blade, dulling its silver beauty somewhat. Enraged that some idiot had dared to attack his brother, and furious beyond words that his guards allowed someone past the security, he lunged forward, kicking the figure in the stomach.

It doubled over, groaning in a soft voice before recovering way too quickly and returning the favour only to find the older Kaiba brother gone, only to feel a blow to the back of the head as it fell to the floor. It rolled onto its back, the knife poised and ready for the angered Kaiba to fall on it, but only found itself staring into the flashing icy midnight eyes of Seto Kaiba. An odd aura danced around the CEO as he stood there, illuminated solely by the moonlight from outside as it poured in through the shattered window at the foot of Mokuba's bed.

The air currents split and danced, sang and screamed as the brunette CEO stood there, his eyes glowing. He all but openly dared the other to move. Because the moment it did, its life would end. Fuck going to jail, fuck the cops, fuck everything else. This _creature _had threatened his brother's life. . . It was going to pay for it with its own.

Then that idiotic, cloaked figure made one mistake; it twitched. Kaiba lunged forward, forcing the knife off to the side, but didn't dodge the kick to his shin fast enough. Hissing as pain shot up his leg and up the left side of his back, he growled and levelled a punch to the figure's face. It groaned again before kicking Kaiba in the stomach, throwing him into the wall opposite them.

With a sickening thud Kaiba landed, barely able to see straight. It was no wonder if he had a bad head wound now, but he didn't care. Anger and something else pumped through his veins as he lunged forward again, feeling the blade of the knife cut along his bare chest, stopping just below his clavicle. Ignoring the burning pain, Kaiba did a magnificent upper-cut whilst half laying atop the figure, knocking it to the floor, hard.

Another groan met his ears, but it wasn't from the figure. Looking up briefly, Kaiba saw his brother collapse limply onto the shredded sheets of his bed before his eyes returned sharply to the figure beneath him. Except. . . there was no figure. Growling in irritation, he snapped his fingers, the lights shimmering to life instantly afterwards. Jumping to his feet, Kaiba ran to his brother's side, and touched the big pulse-point in his neck, sighing in unimaginable relief when he felt it beating against his fingers, thick and strong.

When he pulled his hand away, it was sticky and felt odd. Looking at it in the light, his eyes widened and he realized exactly why the knife that cloaked intruder had been holding had been covered in a black substance. It was his little brother's blood. Cursing loudly, he picked Mokuba up and ran through the house, calling for any servant that was in the main mansion to hurry and call for an ambulance. When he reached the front doors, Iwamoto and Roland, his two heads of security, were standing there, wide-eyed and banged up themselves.

"Get him to a hospital. If you fail to do that, I will personally kill you, cops and gods be damned." Kaiba hissed, pain clear in his voice, but it wasn't enough to override the pure fury and fear in his voice. But it was close. When Roland had Mokuba's paled, half naked body in his arms, Kaiba collapsed to his knees, the scene of his front lawn bathed in moonlight, his little brother bleeding in Roland's arms, and Iwamoto's concerned gaze in his line of vision fading slowly.

Until nothing but sweet, cold darkness remained.

A soft chuckle sounded in the shadows to the fair side of the huge space of green lawn, half concealed by the darkness of the midnight hour, and half bathed in moonlight. As Kaiba's body fully collapsed as dead weight in Iwamoto's arms, the clock struck twelve-thirty, and already the plot of two people's demise had begun.

The night was almost singing with happiness:  
**_Haunted dreamers beware, it's time for the ultimate scare.  
Prepare your weapons, prepare your friends.  
Because the darkness has come, and its time to make amends. _**

Cerulean eyes flashed happily before a swish of black cloak, a soft sound in the wind, and a glimpse of ruby tresses and then it was gone. Fading into the very night itself, leaving behind a stabbed, bruised, and beaten Seto Kaiba, and a fatally wounded Mokuba Kaiba.

_'Now,' _it thought darkly, _'if only to get to Katsuya Jounouchi.'_

* * *

Jounouchi woke up to his cell phone ringing loudly. Cursing dark enough to make a sailor blush madly, he flew out of bed and grabbed the offensive thing, answering it before his drunken father heard the noise and came at his bedroom door with a knife. He'd done it before, why not try it again? 

"Moshi moshi." He said rather breathlessly.

"Jounouchi, man, get to the Domino Hospital quickly." It was Otogi.

Honey-brown eyes blinked rapidly, trying to clear the last trickles of sleep from them before confusion overrode anything else. For the moment at least. "Why, Otogi? What's wrong? What happened?" He asked, his fear growing with each silent second from the other party.

There was a deep sigh before another voice answered, "Katsuya, there's been an accident." That was Yami, and he. . . Sounded - No. It couldn't be fear and worry in that deep voice, could it? Jounouchi's fear did a summersault in his stomach before kicking him in the heart and cackling evilly. The gods must really hate him now.

"W-what kind of an accident, Yami? Gods, tell me damn it! What's happened?" He all but yelled into the phone, his eyes wide and darkening to a feral molten amber. No trace of stupid innocence remained in those depths by the time Yami's answer echoed over the phone and into his ear.

"Someone attacked the Kaiba Mansion last night, Katsuya. Both Mokuba and Kaiba were injured." A pause that was probably meant for Jounouchi to yell and curse, but only silence greeted the ancient Pharaoh who stood in the hall outside Kaiba's hospital room. "Kaiba was the first to wake, and he asked that you be called immediately, to make sure you weren't attacked as well." Again, silence greeted his words. Concerned now, Yami voiced, "Katsuya, are you still there?"

"Y-yeah. I'm - I'm here." Was the shaky reply. Jounouchi's voice had gone dark and deep, echoing with an intelligence that no one had ever heard there before. To say it caught the crimson-eyed ruler by surprise would be like saying it snowed in July. A vast understatement. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Do you need someone to pick you up? Because I can -"

"No, Yami." Jou cut in, his voice sharp and dark. That intelligence had thickened and his tone was deeper, smoother. The fear and fury mixed as one and Yami could have sworn the air around him at Domino Hospital had just gotten way colder than it had been two minutes before. "I'll be there in a few minutes. Just - Just - . . . ." Silence and Jounouchi bowed his head, thankful Yami wasn't there to see the silent tears in his eyes. "Thanks for calling me. I'll see you in a few."

With that he hung up sharply, not even waiting for the other to say anything. He took a few steps back until his knees hit the edge of his bed and he collapsed, falling heavily onto the mattress, his eyes staring blankly at the floor.

_Someone attacked the Kaiba Mansion last night, Katsuya. Both Mokuba and Kaiba were injured. Kaiba was the first to wake, and he asked that you be called immediately, to make sure you weren't attacked as well _

Yami's word echoed endless in his head. And they wouldn't stop. Fury overrode his fear and he threw his cell phone at the wall, not caring when it shattered into a thousand pieces, not caring that he shouldn't have been strong enough to have done that to his phone. Standing up sharply, swiftly enough to make him light headed, but surprisingly he didn't faint, he grabbed a pair of black jeans, slipped them on and promptly began searching for a shirt. Finding a button down, oxford-collared white shirt, he threw it on, buttoning it as he stepped into his black tennis-shoes.

Grabbing his house keys off his dresser, he shoved them in his pocket, and opened the door, not wondering how it had magickally gotten unlocked when it had been just a few hours before. Walking swiftly down the hall, he rolled up the long sleeves of that business shirt and ran a hand through his sleep-tousled golden hair and was just five feet from the door when his father appeared out of nowhere.

"Where ta fuck d' ya dink yer goin'?" The drunkard growled, his brown eyes almost feral, and would have been scary if the blonde even gave a shit right then. And perhaps if he wasn't drunk.

"Sod off, bastard." Jounouchi hissed, shoving the older man away none too nicely before flinging open the door and storming out. The wood shut in the older Jounouchi's face and the younger didn't even hear the angered cursing and promises of pain when he returned home echoing from his father who was seemingly trapped in their damned apartment. Fuck it all, someone was going to die. Starting with the person who'd attacked Kaiba.

They'd definitely be the first to go.

* * *

Crimson orbs shot upward as he sensed an angry presence coming closer and closer. Yuugi, who sat on his lap in the chair outside Kaiba's room, stiffened and snuggled closer to the crimson-eyed ruler. Ryou laid a hand on Bakura's, whose Sen'nen Ring began to glow. The glow faded but Bakura's expression said he wasn't happy about it. 

Honda stood beside the door to Kaiba's room, his arms crossed over his chest. Anzu sat beside Otogi in the chairs across from Yami and Yuugi and to the left of Ryou and Bakura. It wasn't long before they spotted the presence that was beyond being furious walking down the hall purposely towards them. Upon realizing who it was, Yuugi stood up and made to run to the enraged blonde, but Yami caught the back of his shirt, stopping him.

"You feel his anger like electricity, Yuugi. Don't test it." Yami whispered in fearful warning, though his voice was utterly calm and collected, his eyes gave him away. The amethyst-eyed teen nodded before returning to Yami's lap, where he sat docilely, but wasn't too thrilled that he couldn't at least hug his best friend.

Jounouchi stopped a good five feet from where Honda was standing, but none of them really seemed to notice anything but the raw fury in those shimmering eyes. The innocent honey-brown hue was completely gone, replaced by a fearful, feral-looking amber that held an ominous spark that promised death to any that dared oppose him right then.

"Where's Roland and Iwamoto?" Jounouchi asked so suddenly, they all jumped. Neither of them expected to hear him speak, much less in a voice that low and that dangerous. Just imagine seeing a friend you've known practically your whole life go evil and feral on you in a matter of hours. Just goes to show how much one phone call can change everything.

Bakura's ruby-chocolate eyes glittered. "They're two rooms down, Jounouchi." He replied, getting a smile that wasn't too nice in return. He stood, ignoring Ryou's hissed protests and walked forward, placing a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Shall I accompany you?"

"Yes." Was the nearly purred, hiss-like reply.

When the two disappeared into the room two doors down from Kaiba's, everyone, including Yami shivered as fear skittered down their spines. Damn, who knew Jounouchi could get like that? As Yuugi opened his mouth to comment on the scariness of their blonde friend, yelling echoed down the hall. The bits and pieces the small group of friends caught didn't sound pretty and they could only pray Jounouchi didn't tell Bakura to banish Roland and Iwamoto to the Shadow Realm. All six of them knew the ancient thief would be more than happy to oblige.

That was perhaps more scarier than Jounouchi had been a few moments before. Nope, definitely Jou had been scarier. Yuugi shivered, hugging himself and feeling Yami wrap his arms around his lithe form, silently telling him through their mind link that it was alright. Though Yuugi knew this wasn't true, he allowed himself to wallow in the feeling of safety that lie warranted him.

And by the looks of his friends, they felt the same.

* * *

"You IDIOTS! How could you let that damned _thing _get past you, much less into the house!" Jounouchi yelled, Roland and Iwamoto just looking up at him helplessly afraid, and wondering whether it would be wise to answer an otherwise purely rhetorical question as the one Jou had just asked. 

Bakura placed a gentle hand on the fuming blonde's shoulder. That rage was shielded immediately, gone just like that. (A/N: Eh, snaps fingers.) The two heads of security blinked, the fear in their eyes dulling slightly, but not by much. Jounouchi looked at Bakura and sighed deeply, dejectedly.

All three guys watched as the blonde turned from them and walked to the door. Jounouchi paused, a shaking hand on the doorknob before he turned and levelled a glare that could kill if he had the power at Iwamoto and Roland. A long silence sprang to life between the gathered 'group' and it only grew until Jounouchi's voice sliced it like the knife that had hurt the brunette he was slowly, but surely, falling in love with.

"If you ever let something like this happen again, so help me, Bakura and the gods as my witnesses, the police won't find anything less than a fine powder when I'm done with you." He said, his voice surprisingly calm. But the undermining tone of it suggested other things were flashing through the blonde's mind. Things that echoed in those amber eyes. The eyes that, in that one moment, didn't look even relatively human.

Bakura shivered involuntarily when the door shut behind the blonde. Those ruby-chocolate eyes turned to the two shivering heads of security for KaibaCorp.

"I wouldn't take him too lightly, because if he does come after you. . . No way in the Seven Hells, nor in the name of Ra, will I willingly step in his path." The white-haired thief said softly, but loud enough for the others to hear before slipping out of the room himself.

It seemed the world was in for more than it was worth in surprises.

* * *

He groaned, the sound catching the attention of the one who sat by his bed. Icy midnight eyes opened slowly, blinking once before focusing on the world around them. It was a very white world, and he instantly knew he didn't like it. Turning his gaze around the inexplicably white room, he paused seeing a pair of amber eyes staring at him. 

Amber eyes? he wondered. Then realization hit him. Flashes of the night before moved across his mind's eye and he sat up slowly, his chest feeling like it was on fire. Two soft, slightly calloused hands were there instantly to help him sit up and rest against his pillows. Those amber eyes stared at him and Kaiba barely took in the golden hair before soft lips were pressed against his own, a need so great in that touch alone, it was enough to send him reeling.

When the other pulled away, Kaiba watched as the blonde lowered his head to his shoulder and shivered. Jounouchi? He, what was he doing here? How had - then he remembered, that he'd woken up briefly, and told the doctors in the room at the time to call Katsuya Jounouchi to make sure he hadn't been attacked as well. After that, it was all a black haze and he didn't want to decipher any of it.

"Damn it, Seto, don't scare me like that again." Came a soft voice laden with deep emotion. He recognized most of it. Anger, fear, sadness, joy. . . and something else he couldn't - or didn't want to - recognize. Gently, he pushed at Jounouchi's shoulder, letting the blonde sit back and stare at him before he spoke, his voice raspy from hours of sleeping and lack of use.

"You weren't attacked?" he asked, his eyes shining.

Jounouchi shook his head and sighed, sitting on the hospital bed beside Kaiba, his left hand resting on the brunette's leg, his right on his own leg as he stared at the floor with a faraway look in his eyes. They had bled back to honey-brown but still held sparks of amber in their depths that were amazing in and of themselves.

"No, I wasn't." Jounouchi finally replied and lifted his head and gaze to stare at Kaiba. "Who could - would - have done this to you and Mokuba?" He asked, his voice hesitant, like he feared the fact that Kaiba may very well have the answer.

"I don't know." Came the whispered reply.

And for the first time in the years that Jounouchi had known him, Kaiba had actually admitted to being wrong. Guilt flooded him for no reason as the blonde realized that the CEO's sense of safety in his own home, the safety of not only himself, but his little brother, had been shattered in a matter of minutes. Sure, his brother was fine and so was he. . . .

But who was to say they would be so lucky a second time?

No one, exactly.

* * *

End Chapter 4 of Forbidden Fruit

Okay then . . . . well the evil that was promised to make an appearance in this story has finally 'awakened'. Jiro, the evil plot bunny serving as my muse for this story, is quite happy with this chapter, and so am I. Who is this evil? Is it male, or is it female perhaps? Ha ha! I'm not tellin', no I am not. You all will have to guess.

Anyway, I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter, and please, review! I need reviews. Oh, and whoever can guess who the person is that attacked Mokuba and Seto will be awarded a special part in this fanfic. It will no longer be some thirteen chapters. Roughly twenty, depending on how slow or fast it moves. Or how long my muse, Jiro, wants it to be. After all, I'm only a mere slave to the evil plot bunny from hell.

:she dodges a thrown cookie and snickers:

Arigatou, minna-san!  
-Wareta Shooki

Last Edited 2 / 20 / 05


	6. Chapter 5

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

All notes at bottom.  
Thanks to those who reviewed.  
Read prologue for disclaimer.

* * *

Forbidden Fruit  
Chapter 5  
Walking the Killing Edge  
Part 2

* * *

"And what exactly do you want me to do?" 

"Something other than hide away in a place that is no longer safe!"

"Well I can't do that! What the hell would he think!"

"What if you're attacked again? What will happen if Mokuba isn't so lucky a second time, huh? What if-"

"Shut up with the god damn 'what ifs', puppy! I don't care about 'what ifs', I care about the hard-core facts!"

Yuugi just stared at his friends with wide amethyst eyes as the yelling from the room they sat outside of continued. It'd been going on for some time and had yet to end. The spiky, tri-colour-haired teen shook his head, sighing deeply as he closed his eyes. Yami held him tighter, his crimson eyes clouded with a worry than no one had seen in them for three years(1). Anzu ran a hand through her hair before pulling it back into a ponytail and standing up, saying she was going to get something to drink. Honda followed after her, leaving only Ryou, Bakura, Otogi, Yami, and Yuugi remaining to hear the angry argument going on still inside the hospital room.

"Look, Kaiba, I don't want you going back to your house! That maniac got in once, he'll get in again!"

"And what makes you so sure of that!"

Silence echoed then and inside the room Jounouchi had bowed his head, his honey-brown eyes gleaming amber once again. A shadow fell over his downcast eyes as his unruly, golden bangs fell over his forehead, glittering in the sunlight that filtered in through the window on the wall opposite the door.

"What makes me so sure, Kaiba? Do you really want to know?"

Kaiba raised an eyebrow at this point. "Enlighten me to your odd ways, puppy."

"I was attacked once, some five years ago. Some dumb-ass had come after my father and had found me blocking his path. My father hadn't even come home and still this hobo came looking for trouble. So, I know that the maniac that attacked you will come back because the one that came looking for my father and attacked me came back, too. And I hadn't been so lucky a second time." Was the calm, but furious reply. "So if you ever so much as say that someone who attacks you and doesn't end up killing you won't come back again, I'll slap you, because it is a lie."

"You don't know anything, puppy." Kaiba hissed, his voice barely above a whisper but still echoing around the room. The five sitting outside the room shared a fearful look before they continued to listen.

The silence seemed to stretch forever. Until finally, Jounouchi broke it, his voice shaking with the pure rage he was fighting his hardest not to unleash.

"Yeah, Kaiba, I don't know anything, and you're the king of England."

"Get out!"

"Gladly!"

"Bastard!"

"Egotistical know-it-all SOB!"

"Greedy whore!"

"Dirty little -" Jounouchi abruptly cut off what he was going to yell when Kaiba's words sank in. His amber eyes widened before narrowing. He looked away, hands in his pockets as he sighed and closed his eyes tightly, his shoulders tensing. Kaiba's icy midnight eyes widened as he realized what he'd said and done. But as he was going to open his mouth to apologize (of all things), Jou promptly turned around and walked to the door. "Fine, Kaiba, go get yourself killed. I'll see you in Hell."

And with that, the blonde walked out, slamming the door behind him. Glass shattered and fell to the floor. All the brunette CEO could do was stare at the place where Jounouchi had once been before he heard Yami's voicespeaking calmly outside the door.

"Katsuya, he didn't mean it."

"Fuck off, Yami. He's nothin' but an egotistical, spoiled brat that thinks he can survive in the world on money alone! Well if he wants to learn the hard way, let 'em. I'm not gonna be there to save his ass." Jounouchi yelled in reply before silence sounded.

Kaiba bowed his head and cursed.

* * *

Cerulean eyes glittered darkly they watched Mokuba Kaiba sleep. No lights were on in the room, and the curtains were closed. The cloaked figure to whom those eyes belonged to walked forth from the shadows and reached out a pale hand to run it through the young teen's black hair. It felt so soft and yet. . . It knew feeling remorse for what had to be done to the poor child was senseless.

Remorse led to regret, and regret led to much worse things. Sighing, that figure turned and faded back into the shadows, leaving the cloak behind. As it fell away, glints of ruby hair shimmered in the little light shining from the heart monitor beside the bed. A soft, malicious laughter sounded before silence. The black-haired Kaiba brother slept on, completely oblivious to the evil that was just in his room.

* * *

Fahren Faolan walked calmly down the hall towards room 713, the room Seto Kaiba was staying in. Her cerulean eyes glittered behind black, thin-framed reading glasses, a few wisps of ruby hair falling down from the elegant bun atop her head. Her somewhat pale skin glittered against her black tank-top and tight black capris pants. Her matching black Nikes with a blue swoosh completed the outfit and she sighed as she drew closer to the gathered group of friends known as the Yuugi-tachi. 

Coming to a stop, she placed on hand on her hip and stared at the gathered, downcast looking group. Her cerulean eyes glittered and she sighed deeply, shaking her head. Her black painted fingernails blended in with her pants where her fingers rested against her clothed hip.

"Um . . . . who died?" She asked, her calm voice whispering over them like fur against naked flesh. All five six guys shivered and Anzu's wide blue eyes glared up at her in the most accusing way she'd ever seen. Blinking in feigned confusion, she was very good at doing this, she raised a raven eyebrow and looked at everyone before her eyes paused at Yami's crimson gaze.

"I know you." The crimson-eyed Pharaoh said softly, standing up, Yuugi having moved to sit in the chair beside him. Fahren chuckled sweetly, nodding before she held out her hand in greeting. The Pharaoh's hand slipped into her own, and she nearly hissed at the power that radiated from him, and the power that shot up her arm at the mere touch of the other made her want to cry out.

"Fahren Faolan. Nice to meet you again Yami Atemu." She said kindly.

"Likewise, Faolan." Was the crisp, not-so-pleased reply. "Why are you here?"

Those cerulean eyes looked affronted. "I'm here to see Kaiba. After all, he was attacked, wasn't he?" She replied, not entirely realizing her mistake at saying those words. Yuugi stood up next to Yami, amethyst eyes giving her a wary, angry look.

"How did you know that? News of the attack hasn't been released to the public yet." Yuugi said, his eyes narrowing and growing darker.

"Um, a little fox told me." Fahren replied, her eyes wide with unbidden fear. "Look, I'm really close to Kaiba, though he doesn't like to admit it, I am. So please, let me see him."

Yuugi wasn't buying it, and neither was Yami. They both moved to stand in front of the door as she moved to walk towards it. "Back off, Faolan, you're not going near him." Yami all but growled.

Behind those cerulean eyes something shifted, moved, then settled again. Both boys stared at her in utter astonishment as she glared at them, a family possessiveness echoing in those cerulean depths. "Look, I'm going to see my cousin whether you two like it or not. Now move or I'll make you." she said darkly in warning, her eyes flashing as that something moved again and stared out her eyes at them, Yami's power flared.

"Exactly who are you?" He demanded.

"Someone you don't want to mess with." Was the cold reply before she shoved past them and entered the hospital room to find Kaiba's icy midnight eyes staring right at her, pinning her to the air in which she stood.

"Get out." He hissed, his anger nowhere near being tamed or controllable just then.

"Now, now, Kaiba, what would Mokuba say if he found you were attacking me with your eyes again?" Fahren asked calmly, her previous anger locked away as she closed the door behind her, silently locking it. How she managed the last part was a mystery in and of itself.

"He'd compliment me. Now get out." Kaiba replied, his eyes narrowed to icy slits.

Fahren sighed, leaning casually against the door, her arms crossed beneath her ample breasts as she stared at him from behind those thin, black framed glasses. "Look, Kaiba, I don't want to be here any more than you want me here, but I'm not leaving until you've told me what happened last night."

Kaiba's eyes softened from their glare, but the anger in them and the wary hatred didn't leave. What had happened that had gotten him so pissed off? Usually he didn't lose control of his emotions this easily, nor this quickly. What the hell had happened?

"I'm not sure what happened last night," he turned that gaze back to her. "And even if I was, I wouldn't tell you. I'm not dumb enough to be your 'inside source' again. Now get out before I call security."

Fahren rolled her ice-blue eyes and shook her head, pushing a wayward wisp of ruby hair behind a delicately pointed ear. The wonders of being half Irish and half Japanese. It got you a wonderful look and. . . a few other things. Sighing she walked towards him and paused mid-step when she saw the look in his eyes. The look hidden just beneath the ice that always coated those dark eyes. And, just Jounouchi had, she watched the - beast for lack of better terms - stare at her through those eyes. For the first time in years, Fahren was afraid of the brunette laying on that hospital bed before her.

"Fine, Kaiba. You win - for now. But I'll be back. And you're going to talk." She turned and walked to the door before pausing thoughtfully. "You know, perhaps Jounouchi will talk to me. Hmm, I'll just have to find out."

She disappeared before the true intent behind her words surfaced in his mind and he jumped from the bed, collapsing to his knees as a sharp pain shot up his chest. Shit! He placed a hand to the now blood soaked bandage wrapped around his upper chest and cursed softly, his head bowed.

"Damn it, what did she mean?" He half yelled at no one but himself.

When the doctors came rushing in, asking him what had happened, he just remained silent, wishing more than anything a certain blonde teen was sitting in the chair beside his bed, holding his hand and whispering sweet nothings in his ear. He wished more than anything that Katsuya Jounouchi was still with him. Because the pain had only returned and doubled when the blonde had stormed out.

He never felt so alone, until now.

* * *

End Chapter 5 of Forbidden Fruit

1) Okay, I said three years because in this fanfic, Yami was fighting Dartz along with everyone else for Yuugi's soul back and to save the world in their, like, first year of high school. I know, I know, Yuugi doesn't solve the Sen'nen Puzzle until he's a sophomore, but I'm the authoress of this story and I'll run it my way.

Anyway, I'm sorry this chapter's so short. It had to be for the next one will be really long and this is one of those chapters that's sort of in between and very hard to write. I hope it made sense. If it didn't, don't hurt me. . . . just wait as patiently as possible for chapter 6 to come out so everything is cleared up.

On another note, I'd originally planned for the lemon between Jounouchi and Kaiba to happen in the sixth chapter, but with this new plot twist and Jiro (the evil plot bunny that is my muse) deciding he didn't want that, it has been delayed. But don't worry, Kaiba and Jou will get together. When that will be, I'm notsure at this point, but it will happen.

Anoo. . . That's it for the moment. Thanks for the reviews and everything else. Keep it comin'!

Arigatou, minna-san!  
-Wareta Shooki

Last Edited 2 / 22 / 05


	7. Chapter 6

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

Important authoress's notes at bottom.  
Thanks to all who've reviewed.  
I own the song "Trickling Echoes" which I wrote some three weeks ago for this fanfic.  
Go to the prologue for the disclaimer on everything else.

* * *

Forbidden Fruit  
Chapter 6  
Making Amends

* * *

_The birds sang  
And the animals played  
But all I ever heard  
Was the voice saying I should have stayed._

Jounouchi sat alone in Domino City Park, the bench beneath him cold but comforting - slightly. But as he continued to sit and stare at the ground, hands clasped before him, arms resting solely on his thighs, he felt the anger he'd had towards Kaiba melt away. The inexplicable anger he'd felt only five minutes before was leaving and he wished more than anything it had left sooner. However, the evil little voice in his mind (A/N: We all have one of these!) said he should still be mad at him. And he had every right. After all, the brunette had called him a whore, completely unprovoked and everything.

Jounouchi sat alone in Domino City Park, the bench beneath him cold but comforting - slightly. But as he continued to sit and stare at the ground, hands clasped before him, arms resting solely on his thighs, he felt the anger he'd had towards Kaiba melt away. The inexplicable anger he'd felt only five minutes before was leaving and he wished more than anything it had left sooner. However, the evil little voice in his mind (A/N: We all have one of these!) said he should still be mad at him. And he had every right. After all, the brunette called him a whore, completely unprovoked and everything. 

He coughed then sneezed and leaned back against the bench, his honey-brown eyes slowly bleeding back to amber and flickering. Finally they settled on a look of pure, dark honey with no traces of the brown that had been there since his birth. It was the only thing that really linked him to his Mother. Shizuka had been lucky, but not him. . . .His looks were his father's when the man had been in shape, had a job, and had everything going for him. Now - well now he was fat, ugly, and stunk to high heaven.

He sighed. Life just never turned out the way he wanted it to. Not with his family, and not with the relationships he found he actually wanted to continue but could never make them work. He feared getting hurt, so instead, he hurt the other and made them push away. But this time. . . .He'd been the one to feeling guilty, been the one to yell and bitch and holler, and _he _had been the one to storm out. Why? was the only question that kept yelling the loudest in his mind. Over, and over, and over again.

_And I sat alone,  
In some desolate park.  
Wondering how it all happened  
And why I was still in the dark._

Briskly, Jounouchi rose from the bench, slipping his hands in the pockets of his jeans and walking down a well worn path that he'd memorized at such a young age. He'd been no older than seven when he and Shizuka had come exploring. Yet now. . . after everything had past, after all the good memories this path used to hold. It was all gone, washed away by the bad reasons he'd come here. He'd come here to get away, to hide, and now. . . Well now he didn't want to hide anymore but he was so afraid.

What if Kaiba really did hate him now? What if he'd been the wrong one to further shatter the brunette's destroyed sense of safety in his own home? As another 'what if' formed, the blonde stopped it, not willing to bring himself to believe that Kaiba would hate him for one measly fight. It didn't matter really, that Kaiba would no longer be safe, anywhere for some time, and yet. . . He had this nagging feeling like he was missing something.

Like there was something out there that would complete this whole damn puzzle and his life would look up again. Hell, he and Kaiba hadn't been dating for more than three days and they'd already had a big fight, the brunette had already gotten attacked, nearly killed, and Mokuba was still unconscious. A sigh escaped his lips and it was a sound more of pain than of anything else. Life was just too cruel and he was truly beginning to hate it.

_But your eyes kept haunting me  
Kept returning like a broken dream.  
Your whispered words echoed in me  
Like an ever flowing stream._

Feeling alone, cold, and unexplainably guilty, Jounouchi continued down that well worn path, his head bowed and brilliant eyes shadowed by his unruly golden bangs. The wind picked up, whispering to him of the coming night and he knew he didn't want to be stuck here when nightly fully fell. So as he lifted his gaze he saw he'd found his way back to the front of the park and he sighed heavily. He couldn't return home, he couldn't go to Yuugi's or the others' houses to stay, and he couldn't really go anywhere else.

So, having made up his mind, Jounouchi began the long trek back to Domino Hospital. The cars whizzed past him, naught but blurs to his sharp eyes, naught but loud noise-makers he just couldn't get to shut up. Sighing once again for what had to be the millionth time in a space of ten minutes, he crossed the road, not really noticing anything when a car beeped at him just as he made it onto the sidewalk on the other side. He didn't hear it, never would hear it, and just plain didn't care.

His heart felt heavy and sore, like someone had taken up a splintered bat and continuously beat him with it. Over and over until his heart was black and blue from the bruises. He blanched when he imagined how Kaiba must be feeling. What if he was asleep and everyone else had gone home and that attacker came to his room? What would he do if Kaiba was murdered? _Simple_, he thought darkly, _I'll make them pay for it with their own lives. _Clearly, his mind was set in 'protective mode' for Kaiba and any other person he cared for deeply.

_These are the trickling echoes  
That lie somewhere beyond this madness  
And I keep searching  
For a way out of this hopelessness._

Looking up at a sudden loud screech from some moron burning his tires on the road, he saw that Domino Hospital was only one block over. Sending a prayer to whatever Gods were listening, he ran across the street, making sure no cars were coming and calmly walked the rest of the way to the front doors. Stepping from the now twilight-darkness into the full, blinding light of the hospital's lobby, he fought the odd urge to hiss.

Walking up to the front desk, he stared into the brown eyes of a typical looking Japanese woman who smiled at him and said, "May I help you?"

He nodded barely. "Yeah, my name's Katsuya Jounouchi. I'm here to see Seto Kaiba."

_It stretches on for endless time  
A yell, a scream, for pure serenity.  
I want to have it, but I can't  
And so I'll just keep the memory._

Her brown eyes sparkled and she stood up, smiling brightly and leading him to room 713, the very room he'd been in earlier that morning, earlier that afternoon and now felt condemned to return to. Thanking her politely, he ignored the odd look his friends were giving him and slipped inside Kaiba's room, noting instantly by the silence that the young CEO was sleeping.

Taken aback by this new sight and form of Kaiba, Jounouchi sat down in the chair he'd moved earlier, never pausing to wonder as to why it hadn't been moved. Sitting there, in that silent room, staring at a peacefully sleeping Kaiba, his mind began to wander, began to wonder so many things. It ran through possibilities from along the lines of a family with Kaiba, to never seeing the seventeen-year-old brunette sleeping this peacefully again.

Shaking the rather nasty thoughts from his head, he reached out and tentatively touched Kaiba's left hand which was above the covers, looking so pale against the deep, dark blue sheets. His dark honey-coloured eyes glanced to the heart monitor by the bed and felt an odd sense of relief when he saw it was steady and normal. Shivering slightly, involuntarily more than anything else, he bowed his head, his eyes falling closed. It didn't bother him that just touching the brunette made all his fears and doubts, all his insecurities just - disappear, as if they'd never even been there in the first place.

_I keep hearing this voice whisper  
"It's silent now, it's okay."  
And I keep wondering why it sounds like you  
So I whisper back, "Let's play."_

"Kaiba. . ." He murmured, not even noticing that his friends were looking in the window on the far wall in front of him, to the right of Kaiba's bed and beside the door. He held that limp hand in his own, almost like someone from a soap opera would do to a coma patient, as he rubbed the back of Kaiba's hand with his thumb. The other boy never moved and he sighed, feeling even more guilt come over him.

"I'm sorry. I was a jerk before. . . But I was worried, still am, that you'll get hurt again. Just that this time, you won't be so lucky. Gods, you don't know how scared I was when I got that call from Yami. Damn it, Kaiba, it felt like my world had died. Really it did. And for the life of me, I can't figure out why it felt that way." Jounouchi paused, his thumb no longer rubbing the back of Kaiba's hand, his eyes no longer closed, but open and staring at nothing and everything all at once.

"I want to be able to see you smile. Truly smile. Though. . . I might shit a brick or something when I first see it, I still want to see it. I want to see Mokuba grow up and take over KaibaCorp when you're old and can hardly move. I want so much, Kaiba, that I've never had nor wanted before. . . .Yet, now -" He trailed off and bowed his head so his bangs completely shadowed his eyes, those orbs closed tightly to hold back something almost. "Now I can't ever imagine leaving your side." He finished, his voice barely shaking, but if one listened and looked hard enough. . . they'd know why it was shaking, if only slightly.

_These are the trickling echoes  
That lie somewhere beyond this madness  
And I keep searching  
For a way out of this hopelessness._

For a long time, Jounouchi didn't move. Even when a pair of icy midnight eyes opened after he'd finished speaking to who he thought was his sleeping boyfriend, he remained still and silent. It was only when Kaiba felt something cool and wet hit the back of his hand did he realize what was wrong. And he looked harder at the unnaturally still blonde. His shoulders barely shook and his body was extremely tense so as not to move.

Why - why had he come back? Shoving the thought away, Kaiba gently squeezed the blonde's hand, smiling when wide honey-brown eyes shot up to stare at him directly. They shimmered and danced, though there was obviously no light in the world that could make them look like that. Unbidden thoughts of the blonde beneath him, writhing in passion and those wide eyes staring at him exactly like they were now flashed before his mind's eye. He shivered and reached out his other hand, a gesture of the blonde to 'come here.'

Complying without protest, Jounouchi laid beside the brunette on the hospital bed, his face buried the in the other's chest, mindful of his wound and hoping he hadn't hurt him when he'd laid down. He felt Kaiba slip an arm around his shoulders, letting Jou snuggle into the crook of his arm, his other still holding Jounouchi's hand. How long the two simply lay like that, one holding the other, neither knew and didn't really care. The silence was no longer so thick it was unbearable, but now it was a silence that was comforting and enjoyable.

_I'll make up for everything I've done  
The good and the bad.  
Just as long as I can look at you  
And never again feel so sad._

As the silence stretched on for what felt like hours until finally, Jounouchi sat up slightly, his hand moving from Kaiba's to rest on the other side of him so the blonde was half on top of the other, his eyes locking onto those icy midnight eyes that had become liquefied pools of soft indigo. He leaned closer to the brunette subconsciously, drawn in by that stare alone, and something much more.

"Are you still mad at me?" Jounouchi asked, brushing his lips softly against Kaiba's.

The other simply smirked. "If you stop teasing and kiss me, I'll think about it."

Jounouchi laughed at that and pressed his lips firmly to the other's. He pulled back after a few moments of passionate kissing to stare at Kaiba, his eyes holding something even the blonde couldn't explain in their depths. It danced and it echoed and the CEO felt himself drowning in that emotion alone, wanting to explore it and so much more.

Kaiba leaned up, wincing slightly as pain shot up his chest once again, but he ignored it, kissing the blonde's ear, nipping at it and pulling him down, closer so he didn't have to lift off the bed. Jounouchi chuckled, but it sounded strained, but complied otherwise. A soft moan escaped Jounouchi's lips when Kaiba nipped his neck, sucking on the big pulse-point that was now echoing his heart which was beating a mile a minute.

Pulling back, the young CEO smirked, his eyes telling a different story. Jounouchi returned that smirk, his honey-brown eyes dancing dangerously and he thrust his hips down against Kaiba's, enjoying the deep throated moan that came in response. When he leaned in and kissed the other deeply, their tongues meeting in an angry dance for dominance once more, he moved his hips once again, feeling Kaiba's right hand dart up his shirt and press against the heated skin that lay beneath.

"You're warm. Perhaps you've come down with a fever, puppy." Kaiba teased, breaking the kiss to nip and suck at the blonde's neck once again. "Maybe you should see a doctor."

The blonde scoffed in return. "The only doctor I want to see me right now is currently laying beneath me." Was the half-purred reply.

My heart's healing  
And you're asking me to come home.  
Yet I thought for a moment to turn away  
Because I never felt so alone.

Kaiba groaned softly, collapsing back on the pillows, staring up at the blonde, his eyes dancing withwhatone might consider mirth. But anyone who didn't know the more playful side of Kaiba (or that one even existed for that matter) would take one quick look, do a double-take, followed by an impression of a demented looking blow-fish and promptly run off screaming bloody murder. Jounouchi leaned down and tilted his head to the side, kissing Kaiba's neck as that hand twitched against his stomach.

"Get them to let me leave this damned room and place and perhaps. . . We can play doctor?" Kaiba whispered in Jounouchi's ear, licking the lobe before nibbling it slightly. The other shivered and froze when his words fully sank in.

"You're serious?" Jounouchi asked incredulously.

Kaiba shrugged then laughed softly, barely coherent, when the blonde scrambled off him and headed to the door. He felt there was no need to ask the question that came to mind, but he really had to know, just one of the nagging little things people do. He was human (for the most part) and therefore was liable to be ignorant and stupid at some point or another. This just happened to be that point.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

The blonde smirked mischievously at him. "To find a way to get you out of here without having my ass chased by a horde of doctors and nurses." Was the coy reply before the blonde disappeared through the door. Kaiba collapsed against the pillows on his bed and sighed, staring at the midnight border that surrounded the walls of his hospital room. It was almost unnerving how he'd never noticed that before. At least it had some decoration.

Some time later, he heard whooping and hollering. It caused him to smile and then - for the first time in years - he felt nervousness flood him like a tsunami had crashed into him. This was it. Here was hoping he was up to the job. . . . .Or - task for lack of better, nicer, terms.

And here was also hoping he wasn't terrible.

The birds sang,  
And the animals played.  
I chose to go back to you  
And I'm glad I stayed.

* * *

**End Chapter 6 of Forbidden Fruit**

Okay, here is the important notice! There will be adult scenes in the next chapter, however, the well **_demanded_** (I emphasize that word more than any of you know) lemon won't happen until later. Why? Because the evil F - _person_ - has yet to reveal his or her true plans to Jou, Kaiba, and the Yuugi-tachi. But don't worry, and don't hurt me, because the evil won't destroy the wonderful romance between the two love-sick ex-archenemies.

However, that doesn't mean I won't try. :she chuckles and ducks a well aimed tomato: Hey! I demand to know who threw that!

Jou: . . . . :looks completely innocent, whistling even to emphasize the point of said innocence:

Kaiba: Moron puppy.

:pales slightly: Okay, ignore them, they're having. . . sexual tension issues. Anyway, moving on :she absently ducks another tomato, this time directing her glare to Kaiba who's whistling: Pushy bastards, the both of you!

Thanks to all who reviewed, and I hope you will all stick with me for the next chapter and the adult scenes that are to follow. . . And the well awaited lemon that - isn't for another few chapters.

Oh, and **Malia**, I will update if only you teleport those boxes upon boxes of cookies to my house. I live :gets attacked by Jiro and she sighs: Just leave them in my review in-box and I'll get them that way.

Arigatou, minna-san!  
-Wareta Shooki

Last Edited 2 / 23 / 05


	8. Chapter 7

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

Okay, for the first time I'm doing a note at the beginning of a chapter, not after with the rest of them. So here it is, **_the lemon has been moved_**. Thanks to **Malia**, my wonderful reviewer who teleported me cookies (much thanks to you!), Jiro has awoken from what could have been a possible writers' block. But thankfully, it wasn't. Let us all pray for that. :bows her head, muttering noncommittal words: Anyway! Like I said, the lemon has been moved. I'll explain that later.

Thanks to those who've reviewed.  
The disclaimer is in the prologue.  
Leave me the hell alone you damn layers, I'm poor. And if I wasn't, why the hell would I be begging for cookies from my reviewers? For fun? Dream on. I ain't the tooth faerie for heaven's sakes!

* * *

Forbidden Fruit  
Chapter 7  
The Bane of Darkness  
Part 1

* * *

_"There's a darkness in all of us, my dear Seto." _

_He turned icy midnight eyes to her, taking in the curved body draped in linen skirts and tops. In all her dark beauty, she was evil and he knew that. But something about her was alluring in a such a way it made his body ache for the power she held. Those deep, emerald eyes danced with dreams of a peaceful world filled with a power that couldn't change anything, but couldn't destroy it either. It made her one hell of an idealist._

_"Look, Iilya, I hold only a light that purifies at such a dark touch." Was his cold reply, though, even to him, it made no sense. Oddly enough, her emerald eyes sparkled with an amused understanding that made his blood boil._

_"I understand, Seto. For once I really do." She turned to face him fully, her raven hair falling over her shoulders like liquid silk. Her dark skin contrasted against the powder-blue, linen skirt and strapless top she wore. The golden bands on her wrists, upper arms, and ankles made her dark brown skin have an almost bronze tint to it. The necklaces around her neck and the earrings she wore made her face seem all the more exotic. But she was just another Egyptian. Another idiot searching for idealistic power they could never have._

_"No, Iilya, you don't." He almost snapped, his icy eyes glaring daggers at her. He raised the Sen'nen Rod and pointed it at her, the eye of Horus glowing on the item and on his forehead, nestled nicely between his rich, brown bangs. "You hold the power to foresee the future with the Millennium Necklace, but that is all. Outside that cone of power, you are nothing. I'm here to teach you that."_

_She smiled and ran at him, and that's when the screaming started._

Seto Kaiba sat up straight and stiff in his hospital bed, staring at the white wall opposite him. The screaming from his dream hadn't stopped, it only continued. Growing louder and louder all the time. He groaned at the force of it and realized who was screaming. Cursing himself for being an idiot for reasons he didn't quite understand just then, he flung himself out of the bed and through the door, ignoring the fact his chest felt like it was on fire, and his left leg was stiff as a board.

He ran down the hall to room 718, his little brother, Mokuba's, room. He kicked open the door and saw a figure dressed in all black from their shoes to their shirt, holding his brother's pale form against the wall by his throat, their other hand gripping a weapon that was lodged in his shoulder. His brother's violet-sapphire eyes were opened wide, his mouth open as scream after scream ripped from his already sore throat.

Anger the likes of which he'd never seen nor felt before tore through him. His blood boiled and he felt the heat singe his body and the loose midnight-blue, drawstring pants he wore. Jounouchi had brought them for him from his house earlier that day. Balling his hands into fists, he let out a sound somewhere between an enraged growl and a hiss that most definitely was NOT human and charged the figure. It turned to him, glowing emerald eyes widening in what might have been surprise before it grunted as Kaiba caused them both to crash into the opposite wall.

The minute he felt the impact of both their bodies hit the wall to his left, Mokuba stopped screaming, seeing his brother's tall, lithe figure struggling against the one who had snuck into his room and attacked him. His violet-sapphire eyes grew dark and he clutched his right hand to his bleeding left shoulder and ran from the room to get help. He trusted Kaiba to take care of himself, and as he disappeared into the hall, he felt it. . . . Something unexplainable, but definitely pissed and powerful, was in the room behind him. And he didn't have to pause and think of who it was.

He just _knew_. And that scary thought alone gave him the strength he needed to run and find the security guard that was supposed to have been on guard in this hall along with the five cops that had been positioned outside his door. Where the hell were they!

Kaiba growled, punching the figure beneath him in the face, taking them into a roll before kicking it in the stomach and causing it to fly back into another wall, listening to the satisfying _thud _it created on impact. Standing up swiftly and lunging forward he kicked the knife from its hand and pinned it down. Whispering "Turn on." he stared down at the figure below him as light flooded the room. Ah, the wonders of advanced technology in hospitals.

Deep emerald eyes stared at him through ebony bangs, the rest of the ebony tresses falling over slender shoulders, hovering over full breasts. He blanched and growled low in his throat when she tried to struggle. Pesky bitch, who the hell did she think she was? He leaned back, letting her sit up from the floor before he slammed her back down. She let out a breath between clenched teeth, the sound so close to a hiss it caused more anger to spike in him.

"I know you." He said finally, his voice, to his utter amazement, calm and smooth. But the ice that coated it was nowhere close to being nice and he couldn't help but feel sadistic right then. Darkness was a funny thing. It played with the mind and heart, but never touched the soul. Perhaps that's why he was still considered human. Heh, understatement of the year that was.

"Do you now?" She asked, her voice sounding like bells and chimes on the wind.

For a moment, he considered letting her go before he rammed a knee between her legs causing her to gasp before he elbowed her in the stomach and she promptly stopped squirming and stopped being a damned smart ass.

"You're Iilya Ah'kentyah." His voice was still so soft and so calm. It only meant that if you twitched, you died. It was that simple. Here was hoping Iilya wasn't as stupid as he originally thought she was.

"Well then, didn't think you'd remember me first off. I thought I'd get to play with you awhile." She whispered in his ear, suddenly on top of him. He growled in response throwing his head back and hitting her square in the nose. She shrieked, flying off him and somehow ending up beside the torn up hospital bed, tangled in the wires from the machines that had been hooked up to Mokuba.

Mokuba. He looked around and didn't see the black-haired boy anywhere. This unnerved him but he was given no time to ponder it as Iilya came running at him again, her lips curled back in a snarl he knew wasn't human at all as she knocked him off his feet before he went into a perfect backwards roll, pinning her down, again.

"Haven't we done this already?" He asked casually, simply buying time he knew they didn't really have. This bitch had hurt Mokuba. So. . . why wasn't she dead yet?

"Yeah, we have. But how did you remember my name so quickly? It's been five thousand years." She replied, her eyes bearing into his own.

"Huh. Really? Could have sworn you were just another whore on the street trying to get in my bed." He replied. That got him a slap to the face. His head turned to the side with the force of the blow and that was all the time she needed to disappear - once again - for the second bloody time and run out the door. It took him a minute to chase after her.

Tackling her, he put his right knee in her back, his left on the floor with his right hand holding her own right arm behind her back at just the right angle to snap it if she so much as twitched, his left hand keeping her head pressed into the cold tile floor. It was at that exact moment that Mokuba returned with their doctor, two nurses, five cops, and two security guards.

"Damn, what happened?" One of the cops, Ted Forester, asked as he knelt down, cuffing the woman and allowing Kaiba to be helped to his feet by Dr. Takeida.

His icy midnight eyes turned to Mokuba.

"I. . . I was sleeping. She came in and said she knew Seto. I kinda recognized her, but didn't remember where I knew her from. She sat down next to my bed and talked with me, I don't remember the questions, but I felt myself growing less afraid of her. I stood up when she told me to, and then I was pinned to the wall by her hand with a knife in my shoulder." He said so softly, Kaiba had to strain to hear him and he was not even a foot away.

Kneeling painfully, he opened his arms, letting his kid brother run to him, hugging him close. It had been six weeks since they'd been attacked, some three days since Mokuba woke up and began to heal. Why was it someone was after them? Why was it only they were being attacked? He sighed deeply, and stood, holding his little brother against him, Mokuba's arms wrapped around his neck, his legs curled around his waist.

"I want my brother moved to my room, no exceptions, and I want two cops outside our door. If this happens again, I'm suing the damn hospital." Kaiba said, walking to his room, the two nurses following. He talked softly with them before disappearing into his room. Dr. Takeida sighed deeply and looked down at the woman. Emerald eyes stared back up at him.

For a moment he felt the familiar pull of her power and only smiled. But that smile wasn't the pleasant one all of his patients and co-workers saw. It told of dark secrets and coming pain. In her mind he whispered darkly, _You failed, now Nikolaos will punish us both. _She hissed at him just as the cop called Ted pulled her to her feet and led her down the hallway and out of sight, his two partners following. The other three walked to stand guard outside Kaiba's hospital room, the security guard walking away with Dr. Takeida whose oddly dark smile still hadn't faded.

* * *

The phone rang, causing the gathered group of friends to jump collectively before Yuugi laughed, standing up and walking to the phone. Picking it up he said, "Moshi moshi, this is the Mutou Residence."

"Yuugi, put Katsuya on the phone."

The spiky-haired teen's eyes widened, the amethyst hue of them sparkling in the light of the kitchen. He nodded and sighed, walking into the living room with the phone and grinning faintly at his friends before handing the phone to Jounouchi saying simply, "It's Kaiba."

Honey-brown eyes flicked to the clock before he took the phone, standing up and walking behind the couch to pace while he talked. Ever since he'd started dating Kaiba and they talked on the phone, he'd developed the odd habit of pacing while he talked. It helped keep him calm and to appease any odd nerves that decided to jump should the brunette get kinky over the phone. One bad experience would teach you to be more careful. It was just that simple.

"Seto, it's Katsuya. Why've ya called me at one o'clock in da mornin'?" He said into the phone, knowing Anzu, Honda, Ryou, Otogi and the rest of them were all watching him, listening attentively to his side of the conversation.

Kaiba groaned on the other end of the phone, before replying. "I called to ask what you were wearing and if you wanted to hold me as badly I as want to hold you right now." He replied.

Jounouchi laughed softly, genuinely, before shaking his head. "I'm in a pair of black pajama pants and a button up silver shirt. And yeah, I wanna hold you right now, too. But why'd you really call me, Seto?"

"Mokuba was attacked again." Was the soft reply, the anger in that voice so great Jounouchi staggered and if he hadn't been by the couch, he would have fallen.

"What? Again? You're kidding."

"Would I really be kidding about this, puppy?" Kaiba snapped in to the phone then paused and Jounouchi listened to him breathe deeply for a few seconds over the phone before adding, "I'm sorry I snapped, I'm just - I'm so sick of this game these geeks keep playing."

That drew a soft, almost inaudible laugh from Jounouchi's throat. Once upon a time, Seto Kaiba had called him, Yuugi, and the rest of their group geeks. Now the honoured name had gone to a group of thugs trying to kill him and Mokuba. Odd, he thought Kaiba would use much nastier words.

"I'm guessing you kicked the asses of the cops that were supposed to be guarding the room? Or did you simply just kick the ass of the attacker?" Jounouchi replied, getting off the tentative subject of Kaiba being fed up with cat-and-mouse.

"Iilya Ah'kentyah. Ask Yami if he knows that name." Kaiba said so suddenly Jounouchi stumbled again. Cursing softly as he banged his knee on the stand next to the couch arm-rest, he turned to Yami and asked if he knew the name Kaiba had told him. He didn't like the answer.

"Yeah, he knows her. Says she's with an organization called Darké Enyäto." Jounouchi paused and ran a shaky hand through his hair, his eyes bleeding to amber, something they hadn't done in almost three months. He, too, was tired of this stupid game. "He knows for a fact that that organization apparently doesn't accept human workers."

"What does he mean by they don't accept human workers?" Kaiba asked, his curiosity caught; hook, line, and sinker.

"Here, talk to him." Jounouchi handed the phone over to Yami who shook his head at a soft question from the blonde that Kaiba didn't catch.

"Come on, Pharaoh, I don't have all day."

That was a new one. "Yeah, I guessed that, Kaiba."

"Just get on with it, I want information on these people so I can track them down. I'm getting very tired of this game they're playing." The tired irritation and protectiveness in his voice made Yami's crimson irises soften before he nodded his understanding.

"Darké Enyäto only accepts people with. . . .inhuman qualities." He began slowly, wondering how well this would sit with the 'I don't believe in magick.' CEO who was just coming around to accepting he was a High Priest of Egypt five thousand years ago.

"Inhuman qualities?" The ancient Pharaoh didn't even have to be in front of the brunette to know he was raising an eyebrow. He knew it by the tone of his voice alone. That was scary enough. Scarier still was he was beginning to ease up around the CEO, almost treat him like a brother he never had.

"Yes, inhuman qualities. Like fangs, psychic abilities, things of that nature." He paused before continuing hurriedly, not wanting Kaiba to go into one of his now infamous 'magick doesn't exist' speeches. Hell, it was one o'clock in the morning - not that he was tired - but still. It being this early in the morning wasn't the best time for an argument. Especially one he'd never dutifully win. "It is rumoured that they have a leader, a female Master Vampyre that's lived thousands upon thousands of years who goes by the name Nikolaos."

"Anything else?"

"You're accepting this notion?"

"Why the hell not? After all, I saw Iilya's fangs. Ra, Yami, she hissed at me and flung her self across the room in a matter of seconds. She wasn't human and I'm not going to pretend she was - is. But, where can we find this organization?" Kaiba replied, his tone stiff and angered almost.

Yami paused, looking over at Yuugi's wide amethyst eyes, he didn't like the look in them. Fear and anger darkened those irises until they were a cold, hard colour. Shit, this wasn't going to end well. "I know how to find them, but not where." He replied finally, still watching the amethyst eyes of his lover who was soon to be his husband in a matter of months. Though no one knew this as of yet.

"Then tell me."

He took a few deep breaths through his nose before letting the last out his mouth in a long, low sigh. "I have a friend, Ceilya, that you can call. She'll help you find out who Nikolaos is and if and why they're after you."

"Tell me the number."

Yami told him the number, discussing for a few more minutes what to say when he called before handing the phone back over to Jounouchi whose amber eyes held in them a feral look that meant nothing good was being thought in that mind of his. Nothing good and nothing bad, but something kinky, dangerous, and highly naughty that Yami didn't want any part of. Knowing or not.

"Seto. . .Tell me you're not calling Ceilya tonight." Jounouchi said casually, but Kaiba knew by his deeper tone of voice and the way he spoke his words that he'd undergone that subtle change.

"Your eyes are amber right now, aren't they?" He asked instead of answering.

"Yeah, they are." Was the soft reply.

"No, I'm not calling her tonight. I'll call her tomorrow. But can you come out here tonight?" Kaiba said, his voice pleading.

"Seto, I really want to, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"I have no ride and the buses don't run at this hour."

Silence was his answer before Kaiba spoke. "Fine, Ted just told me he needed a statement from me on Iilya and what happened when Mokuba ran from the room to find them. Can you come after dawn, around eight?"

Jounouchi smiled, his eyes still amber, still holding that feral look, and still whispering of the dark secrets within. "Yeah, I can."

"Thanks."

"Do itashimashite."

Kaiba snickered softly and shook his head. "Good morning, puppy."

"Good morning, Seto." Jounouchi said before Kaiba hung up and he clicked the talk button to shut off Yuugi's phone. He cursed and hung it up in the kitchen, grabbing a soda from the refrigerator before stalking back into the living room. He stopped when he saw everyone staring at him. "What?" He asked, not entirely liking the look in Bakura's ruby-chocolate eyes.

"You're eyes, Jou, are amber. Did you know that? They're like freakin' gold." Honda muttered, staring avidly at him, clearly not embarrassed.

"Yeah, I knew that." Jounouchi said, sounding irritated.

He opened the soda and sat down on the floor again, staring at the drink in his hands, nestled in front of his crossed legs. His unruly golden hair fell across his face, hiding one eye from view, but leaving the other to glitter in sharp contrast.

"We'll leave in the morning, Jou." Yuugi said softly.

Those amber irises pinned him down and he whimpered softly, snuggling up in Yami's lap. The crimson-eyed ruler shot Jou a possessive look, clearly telling him to back the hell down. Surprisingly enough, those eyes met his glare and shattered it with one fell swipe of the feral-ness within them.

"Yeah. This damn Darké Enyäto is going to pay. No one attacks Seto Kaiba without saying hello to me first." Jounouchi said, finishing the rest of his soda before tossing it in the trash by the kitchen door and laying down, curling under the blanket he was using, soon falling asleep, his entire body going slack. His friends just stared at him in wonder. Anzu sighed and stood up, stretching. She walked over to the couch and lay down, her cerulean eyes reminding Yami way too much of Fahren's as she stared at them all.

"Well, I'm going to bed. Good night, you guys." She said before crawling under her own blanket, rolling on her side so her back was to them before she, too, fell asleep.

Ryou curled up next to Bakura, the two of them sharing the rather large loveseat, Honda and Otogi laying on the floor beside where the two white-haired teens lay. Yuugi and Yami were the last to fall asleep, but even so, Yami's crimson eyes tore red holes in the darkness of the room after he'd shut off all the lights, only the glow of the slowly waxing moon that shone through the big picture window illuminating the now darkened room.

_Yes, _Yami thought, pulling Yuugi closer to his body, wrapping his arms and the blanket around the boy's petite frame, _the Darké Enyäto Organization is going to pay. I'll personally make sure of that._

_

* * *

_

Cold gray eyes glimmered sharply in the soft glow of the torches that were placed expertly along the walls of the room their owner stood in. Long silver hair that fell past toned shoulders shimmered in its own way, reflecting easily the light of the candles and the moon that shown through the skylight above. Pale skin that was almost parchment pale seemed to grow darker in the moon and candle-light.

A soft knock sounded on the far door and blood red lips curled into a rather nasty smile. Fangs, barely seen, glinted with a hunger that no one would truly ever understand.

"Come in," were the words that figure's voice spoke. It turned, showing a full chest and brilliant curves accented by a leather tank top and pants with straps crisscrossing here and there. Two knife sheaths were strapped to her thighs and a long sword was strapped to her back, the hilt hidden under her hair.

The doors opened allowing a woman with ruby hair and cerulean eyes to step into the room, slowly closing the door behind her. She bowed on the floor, her own body accented by dark blue jeans and a crimson tank-top that made her somewhat pale skin seem paler in contrast. The sweeping trench coat she wore pooled around her as she knelt on the stone floor, the shoulders of that coat cut out expertly with a few more tears along the arms and along the back.

"Mistress, Iilya Ah'kentyah has failed you." That voice was soft and calm, gentle and rippling. But the power it held wasn't kind and it lusted for blood.

Those blood-red lips twitched, still lifted in that almost deadly smile. "Punish her for me, _ma petite_. Show her why it is I don't tolerate failure."

"Yes, Mistress." That woman answered before rising to her feet and turning to leave.

"Oh, and darling?"

Those cerulean eyes turned to her.

"I do know your name."

"What is it?" She asked, her voice cold and unforgiving.

"Fahren Faolan." She replied.

Those gold gray eyes watched as her precious werewolf left the room, closing the door behind her. The rush of power that was left behind made her stagger slightly before her eyes lit up. So, it had begun. A game that had been played unknowingly thousands of years ago had just become known. Now, if only to see how well Seto Kaiba played it. She sighed soundlessly, her eyes flashing with an odd emotion that set her eyes on fire.

On the nightly wind words echoed like thunder:  
_**Haunted dreamers beware, it's time for the ultimate scare.  
Prepare your weapons, prepare your friends.  
Because the darkness has come, and its time to make amends. **_

And Nikolaos only smiled.

* * *

End Chapter 7 of Forbidden Fruit

Konni', minna-san. There really isn't much to say except that I'd like to thank **Malia **for sending me those cookies. Those were much needed. Jiro is quite happy with how this chapter turned out and so am I. Chapter 8 will tell you all a little more about the organization called Darké Enyäto, which stands for "Heirs and Heiresses of the Ultimate Darkness." Odd that those two words have such a long meaning. Huh, other languages are just like that.

Anyway, this chapter goes out to **GiddySchoolGirl **and **Lord Kurama **who helped give me ideas for it, though they didn't really know this until now. However, I'm sorry to inform those of you who wished this chapter would hold the lemon that the sex scene between our dear Seto Kaiba and Katsuya Jounouchi has one again been postponed. It will happen, I kid you not, but just. . . not soon.

Oh, and any of you who believe I should do a sequel let me know in your reviews. Also, I have the rest of the story pretty much planned out (including the lemon) and the ending. Though I won't make the epilogue until I know if my readers wish a sequel of this story or not. So review and let me know!

Arigatou, minna-san!  
-Wareta Shooki

Last Edited 2 / 27 / 05


	9. Chapter 8

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

All notes at bottom.  
Thanks to those who reviewed.  
Disclaimer's in prologue.

* * *

Forbidden Fruit  
Chapter 8  
The Bane of Darkness  
Part 2

* * *

_"Everyone holds an inner darkness. It is simply the way of the world, Kaiba." _

_He stared into those crimson orbs and wondered how they could hold so much truth, so much heartbreak when he'd never even been outside the palace walls. How was it this young Pharaoh held within him such sincerity, such unbidden love for everything he touched, when the world around him was slowly killing him? It just was, and Kaiba didn't find the will in him to destroy the Pharaoh's sense of false reality. If it kept him alive for a few more years, who was he to argue?_

_"But you cannot kill someone you have never gotten to know." He replied, icy midnight eyes flicking to the amber ones of the transformed wolf sitting so docilely at Atemu's feet. Golden fur that covered that entire huge body glittered in the afternoon Egyptian sunlight that poured in from the high windows of the main, royal gathering chamber._

_Those crimson orbs followed his High Priest's gaze to that of the wolf at his feet. He noticed that those amber eyes held only a gaze for the priest before him. Was it true then, the rumours that Kaiba had indeed found someone he loved? That someone had finally broken through the ice around his heart? Perhaps so, but even then, Atemu could not let this wolf live._

_"You know our laws, Kaiba." Atemu's voice alone held such regret at having to dispose of such a beautiful creature. But his crimson irises showed nothing, not even the regret he held within him at knowing he would be destroying the one person, animal-transformer or not, that had managed to teach Kaiba to love again. And that, he knew from personal experience, was no easy task._

_Kaiba knelt then, his arms spreading, the Sen'nen Rod in his right hand, held expertly still, as he silently invited the wolf into his embrace. It didn't hesitate before running to him, nuzzling his cheek gently, his amber eyes staring off into the distance over his shoulder, but not really seeing the beautiful hieroglyphs on the walls of the huge chamber. No, he saw something else and remained silent. He saw and smelt his death on the wind, and the Pharaoh Atemu's regret, but most of all, he felt Kaiba's love for him like a wave upon a sandy ocean shore._

_It was calming, soothing, and he would never forget it. Nipping his ear, the wolf stepped back, sitting there, its golden tail curled around its huge paws and in that one moment, those amber eyes bled to the brilliant honey-amber hue they'd always been in his human form with just the tiniest hints of brown. Within those astounding irises rested a promise. One that pledged this wolf would walk by Kaiba's side once again._

_"Thank you, Kirlyan." Kaiba murmured, standing and looking at Atemu with strange darkened eyes. In that moment, the Pharaoh watched his most trusted friend die inside, and watched the hatred he knew the young priest would harbour for him in the future take root and spread._

_"Mahado," Atemu said sharply, but his voice was subdued, eyes locked in that never ending icy midnight gaze. The priest stepped forward. "Take this animal-transformer. You know what to do."_

_"Yes, my Pharaoh." was the murmured response as the man bowed and led the wolf away. Kaiba had one last glimpse of those amber eyes before they were gone. He never looked away from his former friend's crimson stare. Despite the heartfelt apology in them, despite the regret they held, he didn't look away and he didn't stop hating him._

_In the distance howling and whining echoed through the eerily silent palace. And that was when something in him snapped. Some line that Kirlyan had kept alive and thriving died as one last howl echoed with the fading daylight. And on that single howl rode one name:_

_"SETO!"_

He jerked in the seat he was sitting in, wondering briefly where the hell he was. Blinking and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he realized he'd been crying. What? Why had he been then his dream returned to him in bits and pieces and he gripped his hands into fists so tightly, his knuckles bled white. Glancing around the room, he noticed he was once more in the white room with dark blue border and bed draped in matching dark blue sheets and comforter.

Mokuba lay sleeping in those sheets, looking so small and pale, though the brunette knew he was nowhere near being either of those. Mokuba was more like their mother, dark and beautiful. Not handsome, but downright beautiful. He had her long unruly black hair that still managed to be as soft as silk. Her violet-sapphire eyes that sparkled in any light, and always held in their depths a forgiveness that everyone experienced at least once from her, and her dark, olive brown skin that looked a golden bronze in the sunlight.

And then there was him. He was the exact mirror image of their father, tall, pale and slender. He was six foot five inches tall, with pale skin that seemed to glow like the moonlight no matter what light he was in. He had their father's cunningly sharp, icy midnight gaze and mop of rich brown hair that, like their mother's, somehow managed to be silky and undeniably thick. His body wasn't as scrawny as many people thought but, when he moved, the muscles were there, hidden, but there.

Rising to his feet, happy that his left leg wasn't as stiff as it had been two days before when Iilya Ah'kentyah had attacked Mokuba (the bitch), he approached the bed where his kid brother slept. Dr. Takeida said that he, himself, may leave, but Mokuba should stay in the hospital for a few more days, seeing as he keeps getting hurt. The undertone in the doctor's voice was enough for Kaiba to know he was speaking lowly of his lack of protection for the boy.

A soft growl emitted from his throat and he stopped himself from tearing at the thing nearest him. Which happened to be a night stand. With a heavy, heartfelt sigh, he stumbled back, and sank into the chair he'd just stood up from. Leaning his left elbow on the armrest, he placed his cheek on his palm and just watched the black-haired boy sleep on, his chest rising and falling with his gentle, steady breathing.

"It's been so long. . ." He whispered, his eyes closing to half-mast before darkening and loosing the white that usually surrounds the human eye, his pupils bleeding into that icy midnight hue and causing fire to dance within them, sparkling and shimmering. Just like those amber eyes. . . . Just like Jounouchi's eyes. . . .

He sat up ramrod straight suddenly, his eyes very wide. Holy! Blinking, he rummaged his memory and found that the form of Kirlyan, the werewolf in his dream, and Jounouchi, the blonde-haired boy from his current life, had melded into the same person. Their eyes, when they were amber, were exactly the same! So, maybe Yami _was_ right. Maybe Jounouchi _did_ had a connection to the past that none of them really saw before.

And he now knew why. Muttering an apology to Mokuba he ran to the door and pulled it open. Ted Forester, the Sergeant of the Domino City police force, was standing across the hall, his dark brown eyes glittering but bland as ever. Cop eyes. The eyes of a cop who's seen it all, and done it all. Possibly a good thing, but Kaiba was leaning toward the idea of that possibly being a bad thing.

"Mr. Kaiba." He said simply, his flaming red hair contrasting his eyes. It wasn't odd, just. . . well it was odd. Hell, weren't all red-heads supposed to have either green or blue eyes? Pfft, yeah and he was a brunette with the most unique eyes of all. Except for, perhaps Yami Atemu's eyes. Crimson was definitely not a normal colour.

"Forester, I'm going to make a phone call." He said before leaving the door open and walking down the hall, hands in the pockets of his trench coat. Jounouchi had brought it from his house yesterday when he came at eight o'clock to meet him. It'd been a week, then, since they'd last held each other. Jounouchi having to work after school ended. Amazingly enough, they all passed high school and the graduation celebration ceremony for the seniors was set for the second week of next month.

Here was hoping he lived that long.

"Word law." came the unintelligible reply. Ted was usually like that. Had been for awhile now. Shrugging it off as someone else that was weirder than Yuugi and his friends, yes, Jounouchi included, he continued down the hall, taking two rights, one left, and another right until he reached the service desk on the seventh floor, which, amazingly enough, was the floor his and Mokuba's room were on.

The nurse looked up and smiled.

"Mr. Jounouchi said he was on his way over here." She said. The woman's name was Ceilya Linderman, and he'd called her after Jounouchi had come to the hospital after the night of the second attack on both him and Mokuba. She had somehow managed to get a job working on the same floor and at the same hospital that he and Mokuba were placed in. He stared at her smile and saw the barest hint of fangs behind black painted lips. If ever the word 'gothic' came to mind, Ceilya fit the name perfectly. Even in her white nurse jacket (whatever the hell they called them) she wore black pants and T-shirt with straps hanging off the pants and attaching the shirt's half-cut off sleeves to the shoulders.

In all truth, he liked the outfit and thought she wore the clothes well. Other's, they just needed to get lives and eat more. . . Hell, maybe get a social life. It might help them. It might help them a lot. He leaned on the white counter, his coat half falling over his shoulders, showing the silk, blue button down shirt he wore, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows under the arms of his trench coat, and the bottom tucked into tight leather pants that really hid nothing from anyone daring enough to 'sneak-a-peak.'

"Yeah, thanks, Ceilya. But. . ." He dropped his voice, seeing as this 'intersection' was crawling with doctors and nurses that didn't know the real reason behind the attacks on him and his little brother. "Do you know the name Kirlyan?"

Her pale-green eyes stared at him, and they were just that. Eyes. Yes, she was an eight thousand year old vampyre, but she still didn't try to drawn him in with her eyes. No, scratch that, she'd tried, and failed. Miserably. Sighing softly, she nodded. Standing up, she came around the desk/counter and slid her hands into the pockets of her white nurse's overcoat that looked oddly like the coats doctors wore. But what the hell did he know, she was just one of the inhuman guards here to protect Mokuba and himself, and he really didn't know much after that.

Nor did he entirely care.

With a resigned sigh, he fell into step beside her and slipped his own hands into his pockets. The black trench coat matched wonderfully with his blue shirt, black leather pants and dark blue Nikes. He was simply colour-coded today. Oddly enough, it didn't bother him as much as it used to.

"Yeah, I know the name Kirlyan." She said when they were on the roof of the hospital, it only had seven floors, and knew they wouldn't be overheard. "Jaenelle used to control him. She was his Mistress, he,her animal to call."

Kaiba nodded, understanding all of what she'd just said. After all, it'd taken him only a night to learn and memorize the customs, history, and ways of the vampyric-community. He also knew that the Master of the City was currently a woman named Nikolaos that was none to happy with him for some reason. He and Ceilya, among others, had still to figure that one out. Everything else had fallen into place. Now if only the glue would hold.

Then they'd be getting somewhere.

Those pale-green eyes turned to him, staring from beneath a few wayward tresses of white-blonde hair that was so vibrant, it was almost silver or white entirely. Her skin held the throbbing warmth of the living. She'd already fed. But on who? He didn't want to know that answer.

Long ago he had wondered if the legend about vampyres being unable to walk in the daylight hours was true of not. Ceilya had taught him that it didn't matter whether they could or not, it depended on how strong the vampyric blood line or the strength of the powers. Being a master vampyre was just a plus, having the years to back it up was even better.

"Why do you ask of Kirlyan?" Her voice was mere bells and chimes on the wind.

Kaiba stared out into the distance, looking over the vast city of Domino, Japan. Two and a half hours from Tokyo, and they were still such a small city located almost exactly on the Pacific ocean shoreline. But he wasn't complaining, apparently neither was anyone else who lived around here. Sighing, he shrugged, leaning his back against the high brick railing that went around the entire perimeter of the hospital's roof and locked his hands over his stomach.

One icy midnight eye peered at her through rich brown bangs.

"I just awoke from a dream. I had been. . . in love with him. When the pharaoh of Egypt was about to kill him because of our laws, I said 'Thank you, Kirlyan.' After waking up, I was thinking about Katsuya and how his eyes turned the exact same colour of amber as Kirlyan's were in my dream. And I realized, maybe Katsuya _did _have a link to the past that we didn't know about before." He replied finally.

Ceilya chuckled and shook her head. "You, Seto Kaiba, are love-sick, and it is just beautiful." She said, her voice echoing with amusement, the soft sound of her laughter dancing along his spine and causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. She may look human, play the part wondrously, but she was not human. He just had to keep reminding himself of that. She was one of the monsters, no matter whose side she was on.

He just glared at her.

"Okay, all seriousness now." She said, her laughter ending abruptly, the amusement fading from her eyes, leaving only a stillness the dead can have. "Kirlyan died because he refused to step down from his position in the Council and acknowledge the Pharaoh Atemu as his master when it was clear he loved another. The pharaoh agreed to abide by our laws and kill the werewolf. He was one of the most powerful ever to walk this ungrateful earth." She paused and a thoughtful look overcame her delicate features. "Many mourned his death."

"Even me."

Ceilya glanced at him and smiled, showing fang purposely. "Yes, even you, Kaiba."

They stood in companionable silence for a few moments longer, pondering what the other had said and thinking about how all the puzzle-pieces could fit together to form an end to this oddly insane plot of Nikolaos's. With a sigh that echoed the other's perfectly, they returned to the hospital's halls, Kaiba returning to his room to await Jounouchi who was on his way to see him, and Ceilya to take up her post at the service desk, her pale-green eyes glittering with a power Kaiba had once known and surpassed. Now he feared he'd never regain his memories on how to use it before all this was over.

It seemed the entire world consisted of monsters and Nikolaos was only one of them.

That thought wasn't pleasant, wasn't pleasant at all.

* * *

"I want to see him, damn it!" 

"You cannot, he is sleeping."

"Well wake him up!"

A gasp followed this. "I'll have you know that I'll do no such thing."

"I'd didn't need to know that. Because, frankly, I don't care."

"You're not going in there."

"Like you're gonna stop me?"

"Yes."

A burst of laughter that was cold and unpleasant sounded and Kaiba shivered, sharing a look with Mokuba whose eyes stared at him from across the room. Dusk had fallen around the city of Domino and Jounouchi was supposed to be coming to pick them both up from the hospital. Dr. Takeida had given in and said they could both go home. Hallelujah to that.

"Sod off, I'm going in there, he's waking up, and we're leaving." A brief pause before the wall shuddered nastily. "_Together._ Do I make myself clear?"

A long silence and a thud was heard before the door opened and Jounouchi walked in, amber eyes gleaming dangerously, the look in them non too happy. But Kaiba could only smile as he rose from his seat and walked over to his boyfriend. He pulled the rumpled, unhappy-looking blonde against him, showing him silently, physically, just how excited he was by seeing him alone.

The blonde moaned in response. Mokuba watched as the two kissed and snickered. They were so deeply in love that it was hilarious how neither of them would admit it. He slid off the bed, busying himself with tying his trainers and making sure he had everything before turning his gaze to his brother and Jounouchi. They were staring at him, Kaiba's arm around Jou's waist, the other leaning into him, those eyes still amber and looking extremely content.

"You ready, scamp?" Jounouchi asked, his eyes lighting on fire with the smile that lifted his lips. Mokuba smiled back seeing the tiniest hint of sharp canines. He'd talked with Ceilya, the master vampyre that was his personal guard, and knew that in a year or so, maybe less, those canines would grow to fangs. How odd. Jounouchi wasn't human but didn't know it. Just goes to show things aren't always what they seem.

"Readier than you'll ever know." Mokuba replied running over to them.

Together, they left down the hall, waiting for the elevator to open. Ceilya walked over and smiled. "I'll see you guys later at Yuugi's. I'm going to finish up here. Plus change." She winked and left, seeming to vanish when they blinked. But it seemed only they noticed. Ted Forester walked up just as the elevator doors were opening. Ushering Jounouchi and Mokuba inside, he held the doors open, looking at the Sergeant who stared at him sternly.

"Be careful, Mr. Kaiba." He said before shaking hands with him, slipping a knife sheath complete with blade, up the sleeve of Kaiba's trench coat. Hiding his astonishment well, Kaiba bowed politely (Jounouchi was wearing off on him) and stalked into the elevator. He kept the blade hidden from the other two, not entirely wanting to know how they'd react.

It wasn't long before they were in Jounouchi's car (it was a rental) and driving down the streets of Domino City towards Yuugi's house and the Game Shop. Kaiba lay back in the passenger's seat, Mokuba laid out in the back, his eyes staring at Jounouchi's face. The way his eyes glittered in the passing car headlights and the streetlamps that dotted the roads like lightning bugs. How his unruly golden locks fell across his face and almost to his shoulders in perfect waves.

Maybe, just maybe. . . he'd be able to prove to Jounouchi that it wasn't all ice under his barriers. That there was some warmth in him. His hand slithered over the seat and raised armrest between them to lay docilely on Jounouchi's right thigh, massaging the tense muscles there, but causing others to spring to life in different ways. A small, self-satisfied smirk lighted Kaiba's eyes and he winked when the blonde looked at him.

"Pushy bastard." Jounouchi mumbled teasingly before twitching his leg, telling Kaiba to move that hand closer to other, naughtier places.

"Later." He replied, looking utterly smug.

Jounouchi just smiled, deciding to continue driving than risk throwing something at the smug brunette CEO. He sighed and remembered something Ishizu had told him at the end of the Battle City Tournament when she'd caught him alone, that is. And that was no easy task at all.

And, even now, her softly spoken words echoed like thunder in his mind:

_"Change will come, Katsuya Jounouchi. And when it does, only you will be able to control the outcome."_

_

* * *

_

**End Chapter 8 of Forbidden Fruit**

Okay people, thanks to those who reviewed, and thanks to those who have yet to do so. Please, review, I'm hoping to get a hundred and thirteen reviews before this story's finished. :she smiles hopefully: Anyway, the lemon is fast approaching, whether it's in the next chapter or not, I do not know, but it is coming.

Anoo, there's not much to say other than thank you to my wonderful reviewers and to keep it coming with the reviews. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Go ahead and read the next chapter, it's a treat since I haven't updated in forever it seems.

Arigatou, minna-san!  
-Wareta Shooki

Last Edited 3 / 03 / 05


	10. Chapter 9

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

ADULT CONTENT! RATED NC-17!  
Thanks to those who reviewed.  
All other notes at bottom.  
The disclaimer is in the prologue.

* * *

Forbidden Fruit  
Chapter 9  
Voices in the Night

* * *

Silence reigned on the two as they stood just inside the door of the Kaiba Mansion, their bodies crushed against each other as they kissed. The silence continued to build, almost becoming a pounding in their ears, but they never noticed it. Soft moans escaped the blonde that was pressed against the closed front door, the brunette groaning softly, barely audible, as he grinded against the other. 

Finally, the two separated, in dire need of oxygen, otherwise they would have continued. Kaiba had stopped grinding against Jounouchi, but was pressed against him, his nails digging through the material of Jounouchi's jeans over his thighs, so close to the erection that all but screamed for attention. When their lungs were functioning perfectly, Kaiba leaned back, staring into those honey-brown eyes but now they shimmered a brilliant amber that he'd never seen them become until now.

"Katsuya. . ." He began, knowing the words he wanted to say, but being unable to speak them. Those eyes stared up at him with such trust, such caring, that he didn't want to risk destroying what they'd become together. Because he knew that if he lost Jounouchi now, he'd never recover. He sighed and leaned forward, saving his hesitation and lack of words with a soft, sensual kiss that left Jounouchi writhing against him.

Mizu no naka ni yoru ga yureteru  
Kanashii hodo shizuka ni tatazumu  
Midorinasu kishibe

They parted again and Jounouchi gripped Kaiba's shoulders staring deep into those liquefied icy midnight irises that glittered like the twilight. He stared at the flushed cheeks, the tousled hair and the overall look of the CEO. And right then, he knew what Kaiba had been wanting to ask, had been needing to say. Smiling brilliantly, he kissed Kaiba's forehead, left and right temple, then nibbled at his bottom lip, never truly kissing him.

Pulling back, he moved his lips to the brunette's neck, feeling the other's hands tighten around his thighs, those nails almost piercing his skin, but he didn't mind the pain. Hell, it only served to fuel the fire burning within him. He stepped back and stared at Kaiba, their bodies separated by a few feet. How long they stared at each other, neither knew, but it was all they could seem to do, lost in the dancing shadows of the night as the light of the full moon shown in from the many windows of the Kaiba Mansion's living room.

"Katsuya-"

"Can I take a shower?" Jounouchi cut in, trying to ignore the hurt look in those eyes. Kaiba nodded, taking the blonde's hand and leading him down the hall and up a flight of stairs before turning right and stopping at the third door on the left. Opening it, he pulled Jou close, nuzzling his neck, pressing himself against the other, almost pleading with that silent gesture to let him show the blonde what pleasures awaited him.

The other only whimpered softly, tightening his rather loose hold on the brunette. "I never said 'no,' Seto. And I still haven't. Just. . . Just let me get cleaned up, okay? Get the r-room ready." Jounouchi tried to ignore the subtle way his voice shook. Those liquefied icy midnight eyes trembled with what the other could only perceive as pure, utter joy.

_The night is wavering in the water  
The greening shore is so still and silent  
That it is sad._

Kaiba leaned in next to Jounouchi's left ear, licking the shell before whispering, "Thank you." Stepping away, the brunette walked into the bathroom, knowing the blonde would follow soon after. And follow Jounouchi did.

The bathroom itself was huge, enormous in more ways than was humanly possible. A large black, silver veined marble bathtub that was some three feet deep was on the far side with a wooden deck built around it. Silver veins ran through the matching black marble sink. Black carpet with silver designs embroidered into the extremely soft texture covered the floor, the walls done in a wonderful powder-blue with black border and silver swirls. It was simply amazing, there were no other words for it.

Moving further into the seven by seven bathroom, Jounouchi noticed that the facet of the sink and bathtub were carved into perfect replicas of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Even the eyes were inlaid with sapphires to emphasize the name of the very Duel Monsters dragons themselves. Taking it all in, even to the large mirror above the sink, he was so very impressed. Finally, his eyes fell on the owner of the house, the man he was in love with (A/N: Though he's yet to say so out loud, of course!) and felt his breath catch in his throat.

_Utsukushii yoake wo  
Tada matte iraretara  
Kirei na kokoro de_

Against the backdrop of the blue, silver, and black themed bathroom stood none other than Seto Kaiba. He had abandoned his trench coat somewhere when they'd gotten inside the house, and was now dressed in only that silk, blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the end of that shirt tucked into the tops of black, skin-tight leather pants that hid nothing. And fully aroused, they hid even less of the CEO.

Blushing slightly, he walked forward, slowly, as if he had muscles in places normal humans didn't. But neither he, nor Kaiba, knew that, so who was to complain? Those icy midnight eyes widened slightly when Jounouchi fell to his knees, his hands on Kaiba's hips as he leaned forward, rubbing against Kaiba's barely concealed erection. The other let out a soft cry as his hands twitched, trying their hardest not to lodge into those unruly golden locks.

Jounouchi kissed him and nipped at the top of those leather pants, undoing the button but going no further. He rose slowly to his feet, as if that alone was more than he could handle. Kaiba just stared at him, his eyes clouded and masked over with need and something else the blonde didn't really want to decipher right then. Leaning forward, he kissed him long and slow, massaging his willing mouth with his tongue, promising that they'd continue this later. The soft moan of protest when he pulled back made Jounouchi smile.

_If only I could wait  
For a beautiful dawn  
With a pure heart..._

A good ten minutes later Jounouchi was lifting himself out of the tub, listening to the water drain as he dried himself. Blinking when he realized his change of clothes were in the duffle bag on the living room floor, he cursed softly, harshly, before wrapping a powder-blue tower around his rather thin waist and hoping it would hold. Looking in the mirror above the sink as the mist cleared from it, he sighed seeing his damp hair was still as unruly as ever. Messing with it for a bit, he gave up and opened the door, peering out and looking for Kaiba.

"Seto?" He called and nearly jumped when he saw the other poke his head out of the door two doors down on his left. Sighing in relief, he stepped out of the bathroom and froze mid-step, the cool air of the hallway causing goosebumps to ride up his arms. Hugging himself, he watched the other approach and smiled sheepishly when Kaiba raised an eyebrow at him.

"My clothes are in the duffle bag on the living room floor." Jounouchi explained, rubbing his arms to get the blood flowing and warm again. Kaiba just chuckled and leaned forward, kissing him softly, guiding his hands from his arms to place them on his own hips. It was then that Jounouchi realized the other was only in a pair of silver drawstring, silk pants. He shivered again, but for different reasons.

_Kurai umi to sora no mukou ni  
Arasoi no nai basho ga aruno to  
Osiete kureta no wa dare  
Dare mo ga tadori tsukenai  
Soretomo dareka no kokoro no naka ni_

When Kaiba pulled back, gently breaking the kiss, Jounouchi whimpered and leaned against his bare chest, taking in the sweet cinnamon scent that was only Seto Kaiba. He smiled and kissed the bare shoulder he was leaning against, his hands playing along the edges of Kaiba's pants. The brunette moaned softly and took a step back, his arms around Jounouchi'swaist pulling the other along with him.

Kicking open his bedroom door, Kaiba led Jounouchi inside, before turning and closing it again. Jounouchi withdrew himself from the brunette's arms and smiled at him. Looking around at the darkened bedroom, he blushed slightly, knowing this was it. Tonight would the night that he lost himself in Kaiba fully. The night when his pride took a round trip to cloud nine, perhaps never to return. He shivered again, feeling slender arms slither around his waist, pulling him against a fine muscled, bare chest.

The bare, skin on skin contact made Jounouchi whimper softly, but he realized all too late that he was clad in only a towel and that that towel, was slowly being removed by an eager brunette. But when Jou placed his hands over Kaiba's, he found he could only help the CEO remove the towel faster. Sure, they'd gotten into foreplay. . . a little, but it was never too heavy. Never quite like this. . . .

_Who told me that  
There is a land without any conflicts  
Beyond the dark seas and skies?  
No one can reach that land,  
Or perhaps it only exists in someone's heart_

Kaiba gently guided Jounouchi to the bed where he helped him lay down and get comfortable before he shucked off his pants, leaving only his boxers to hide him, but even then, Jounouchi didn't really see the point. Staring down at him, Kaiba watched one of those hands reach forward and stroke him. He crumpled softly on top of the blonde, trying not to groan and just take him then and there. But he knew better, much better and wanted nothing more than to make this night memorable for Jounouchi.

...He's still a virgin, Kaiba...

Shaking the memory of Yuugi's voice from his head, he leaned down and kissed along Jou's neck, biting him when the other slipped his hand down his boxers, removing them with the other. He stiffened, groaning loudly, when he felt Jounouchi's fingers slide around him. He shifted slightly, wondering how he got himself caught in these situations and began wondering where the hell he left the lotion. . . . Groaning when Jounouchi squeezed, he levelled a pointed stare at the other who blushed and withdrew his hand.

Kaiba was suddenly leaning up to his ear, playing with the earlobe with his tongue as he whispered, "Later, right now. . . I'm pleasuring you."

Jounouchi nodded and felt Kaiba's hands ghost down his naked sides, pushing gently at the towel that, ironically enough, still hadn't fallen off. But Kaiba's hands pushed it open slightly so he could run his hands over Jounouchi's thighs, just barely missing where the blonde wanted those hands to touch the most. He kissed him passionately, feeling him grow harder where he was pressed against his lower stomach. Chuckling, he began kissing a trail down Jounouchi's neck and chest, taking an erect, hard nipple into his mouth and sucking it, hard.

A sound somewhere between a moan and a mewl escaped the blonde's throat, amber eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling. Kaiba's hands were working at removing the towel around Jou's waist. Apparently the puppy was smarter than he'd thought originally. He could tie one hell of a knot. When he'd gotten in undone, Kaiba switched to the other nipple, playing with the other with his hand, pinching it and listening as the other moaned and whispered for more. The sound itself was purely amazing and made him more excited than he'd been a few minutes before.

_Mizu no nagare wo shizumete  
Kureru daichi wo uruosu shirabe  
Ima wa doko nimo nakutemo  
Kitto jibun de te ni ireruno  
Itsumo, itsuka, kitto_

Kaiba began kissing lower and lower down the blonde's heat-ridden body. The other arched beneath him when Kaiba swirled his tongue around his navel. Nipping him slightly, he pushed the towel away, pulling it from under the blonde completely when Jou lifted his hips to allow the brunette to pull at the towel and toss it to the floor.

Water droplets still clung to the now fully naked Katsuya Jounouchi. Enthralled by the beauty that lay beneath him, Kaiba leaned down and kissed his throbbing cock, laughing softly when Jounouchi gasped. He curled his lips around the blonde's tip and sucked before moving forward, taking a forth of him in his mouth and drawing back, letting his teeth scrape against the sensitive flesh.

Jounouchi moaned loudly, his fingers lodging themselves in Kaiba's rich, brown locks, his eyes closed in pure pleasure as he thrust into Kaiba's mouth, well tried to. Those skeleton, thin-fingered hands held his hips to the bed, making this torture so pleasurable it nearly drove him to the edge right then and there. But somehow, he felt the pool of desire, of pleasure, build in him and beg for release. He continued trying to thrust into Kaiba's mouth, but the other only held him to the bed with a stronger grip. When those nails dug into his flesh, Jounouchi just lay there, keening softly, whispering Kaiba's name, and twitching, hoping this wondrous torture would end soon.

_A melody that can quench the thirst  
Of the land that calms the waters' flow  
Even if it does not exist anywhere right now,  
I will come to possess it  
Always, someday, for sure_

Right before he came, Kaiba moved away from the blonde, the other gazing at him with the clouded amber eyes, begging for him to return. The other didn't have to speak for him to know what the question was in those beautiful eyes. Shushing him gently when he protested at Kaiba leaving the bed, he moved to his dresser, pulling out a bottle of lotion. Those amber eyes watched his every move, making him feel slightly self-conscious. After all, he was naked, walking across the room and back with only the moonlight to play over his skin.

Jounouchi stared at the lotion in his hands when he sat himself between the blonde's legs. Those eyes watched him lather a few fingers before Kaiba looked up at him, meeting those eyes squarely, sincerity echoing in his own icy midnight irises. "This will hurt at first. I'm not going to lie to you." He said softly, and when the other nodded his understanding and consent, Kaiba set the lotion on the floor and leaned forward, slipping one finger into Jounouchi's entrance.

The other whimpered softly at the pain that filled him, the finger that was moving around in him, as if searching for something, feeling out of place. Soon the pain dissipated and he nodded at Kaiba. The brunette kissed him softly when he added a second finger, scissoring them both, widening the blonde, amazed at how tight he was. And once again, the pain dissipated and Kaiba saw the blonde nod. He added a third and Jounouchi cried out in pain.

He kissed him, stilling his movements as he whispered soft things to the one beneath him. Jounouchi whimpered softly, those amber irises staring up at him, pleading. But soon the pain in their depths receded and he kissed Kaiba back, his eyes drifting shut. When they parted, Kaiba stared into those eyes, truly afraidto ask the question he had to ask, had to know the sure answer to. Gathering what shitty courage he had left, he leaned down to Jounouchi's ear and licked it, nibbling the lobe before whispering, "Are you sure about this?"

"Take all of me." Was his simple reply and Kaiba leaned back, sitting on his knees as he coated his throbbingerection in the lotion and positioned himself between Jounouchi's legs, the blonde wrapping those legs around Kaiba's waist, making the other push into him slightly, involuntarily.

After a few more moments of teasing him, Kaiba slid in slowly, inch by inch, not wanting to hurt the one beneath him. Jounouchi lifted his hips, allowing Kaiba to enter him completely. He moaned softly when he settled on the bed once more. His hands gripped Kaiba's shoulders tightly, his nails digging into the tender flesh there. If Kaiba's fingers in him had been painful at one point, there were no words to describe what it felt like now. It hurt, that was a definite, but after a minute or so, after he got used to Kaiba being inside him, he moved his hips against the brunette, feeling the other growl low in his throat.

That's right, he felt him growl, didn't hear him, felt him. If that had been odd, it was completely thrown out the window when Kaiba opened his eyes to stare down at the one that lay beneath him. In those eyes echoed the same emotion that Jounouchi saw Yami stare at Yuugi with. It was the same emotion Bakura regarded Ryou with whenever the pale British boy was near him, or in his arms. He knew what that emotion was, and was frightened by it, but knew that somehow, that same emotion was mirrored in his eyes, he just wasn't willing to admit it.

_Mizu no akashi wo kono te ni  
Subete no honoo wo nomikonde nao  
Hiroku yasashiku nagareru  
Sono shizukesa ni tadoritsuku no  
Itsumo, itsuka, kitto  
Anata no te wo tori..._

"Katsuya . . . ." Kaiba murmured, beginning a steady rhythm as he moved in and out of the blonde, feeling velvet walls encircle his length, causing him to get lost in the pleasure he was feeling. The other mirrored his movements, moving his hips to meet Kaiba every time. Soon, the agonisingly slowly movement drove Jounouchi to irritation fuelled by the need for so much more.

"Harder, Seto, faster." He said, his voice lost as more moans and groans sounded from his throat, his head thrown back, hair plastered across the pillow as sweat coated his body in a fine sheen. Kaiba nodded, even though the other couldn't see him, and thrust in harder and faster, pounding into him and crying out his pleasure every time, listening to the other as he whimpered, mewled, and groaned his name. He never knew there were so many ways one could utter his name. But oh, did he learn.

His pace quickened even further, and soon he knew he must be but a blur as he moved into the blonde, faster each time and with more force. Yet the blonde continued to meet him every time, continued to moan for more, beg for more. He could only comply. Finally, all too soon for his liking, Kaiba felt his climax approaching. If he went down, he wanted to take Jounouchi with him.

Gripping the other's cock where it rubbed between their bodies, he pumped him in time with his thrusts, the blonde's movements becoming more frantic, more passionate. Jounouchi threw back his head and cried out when he came, and tightened around Kaiba, the brunette coming soon after.

For how long they lay together, Kaiba still inside the blonde, neither knew, but neither were willing to break the wondrous silence that had engulfed them. Kaiba licked at Jounouchi's left shoulder lazily, in long, languid strokes that made the blonde wonder what he was doing. Touching his lower back, he trailed his fingers up to the other's hair and tousled it more that it already was. His lover shivered at the touch and nuzzled closer to him, still licking at his shoulder.

"Seto, what are you doing?" He asked, his voice hoarse and deeper than Kaiba had ever heard it before.

"I'm tasting you." Was the simple reply. Jounouchi laughed slightly and yawned, feeling suddenly tired, and a little sore. He held Kaiba closer when the other made to move off him. Chuckling, Kaiba pulled himself from the other's body, knowing he wanted nothing more than to stay in him all night. He pulled back the covers, helping Jounouchi to move under them before laying beside him and pulling the covers over them. Outside the window in Kaiba's darkened bedroom it began snowing, the soft, fluffy flakes floating leisurely to the ground, glistening in the moonlight.

Jounouchi rolled onto his side and felt Kaiba pull him closer, his arms wrapping around his waist from behind. The other's calm, half-asleep breathing made his body shiver as Kaiba's warm breath caressed his neck and shoulder. He snuggled closer to that warmth and closed his eyes. The nightly music of the natural world outside was quieter than normal, as if it weren't really there, and perhaps, just maybe, it wasn't.

_Let the token of water be in my hands  
Even after engulfing all the flames,  
It still continues to flow, gently and broadly  
I will reach its tranquillity  
Always, someday, for sure  
With your hand in mine..._

"Oyasumi nasai, Seto." He whispered, and felt the other smile where his lips gently rested at the nape of his neck, his face half covered in Jounouchi's unruly golden tresses. Even now, drenched with sweat, they were softer than the finest of silks. Odd as it sounded, it was true.

"_Je t' aime._" He heard Kaiba whisper in response. But it wasn't Japanese, no, it sounded somewhat French. But as he was about to ask him what he meant by the words, Jounouchi felt the other's steady, slow heart beat against his back, and felt the evened breathing on his neck and shoulder.

He hugged his arms closer to his waist and closed his eyes, feeling for the first time in his life like he was were he truly belonged. He didn't dread the coming morning, he didn't wish he wouldn't wake up. No. . . he hoped he would wake up and not find this night had been a dream. True, he had lost his virginity to the one person he never thought he'd come to care about. But the fact of the matter was, he had and that alone made getting to sleep much easier.

And as he drifted off, both of them heard the same voice from the same wise Egyptian woman speak two different things in their minds.

_"Change will come, Katsuya Jounouchi. And when it does, only you will be able to control the outcome." _

"One day, Seto Kaiba, someone will destroy the barriers around your heart. And when that happens, you'll be left in the dark, wishing you hadn't betrayed them."

Weirder still, neither knew what she had meant. And sometimes, being naïve is just simply annoying.

* * *

End Chapter 9 of Forbidden Fruit

Okay people, there's the 9th chapter. Oh my god! Can you believe it, the 9th chapter! Jeez, seems like only yesterday I had first started this story and posted it. Now look at me :she smiles, eating a few cookies: Thank you to all of those who have reviewed. Your insight is much appreciated. And. . . Yep, I finally wrote the lemon. And you're all probably wondering why I had Kaiba say "_Je t' aime._" instead of what we were all expecting. However, the first person to tell me what those words mean (Hint: they're French) will get a special place in this fanfic.

And on another note, I am planning on making a sequel, but I need all of you to let me know if I should do one. The next few chapters will not be all the lovey-dovey "ness" I'm sure many of you are hoping for. Our two lovers will encounter Nikolaos for the first time, Mokuba will find out some information vital to the solving the puzzle of why he's being attacked, and Yami will finally regain the memories of his past.

Yet. . . what of our dear lovers' destinies? Ha! You'll have to read and find out!

Arigatou, minna-san!  
-Wareta Shooki

Last Edited 3 / 03 / 05


	11. Chapter 10

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

* * *

Thanks to those who reviewed.  
Oh, and congratulations to **Assassino**.  
Draco Chaisson, the newest character, is for you.  
As always, notes at bottom.  
Disclaimer in prologue.

* * *

Forbidden Fruit  
Chapter 10  
Turning Point  
Part 1

* * *

Nikolaos stared at the cunningly sharp, pale hazel-blue eyes that looked more like clear ice with vague flecks of blue than anything else. The chains that held him weren't strong enough and he and she both knew that, but he still hung there, staring at her and not fearing her in the least. It was one of the reasons she liked him. Hell, she even respected the kid. Though, if one must be technical, he wasn't a kid, hadn't been for over eight million years. 

Yes, it was true, she, a vampyress of only a thousand years or so, but more powerful than anyone besides the vampyric Council, was somewhat afraid of a vampyre that was well over eight million years old and still growing in power. Her cold grey eyes looked him up and down, taking in the olive-brown skin littered with healing lash-wounds, the fine muscles that melded together perfectly, and the aura that coated that beautiful body like fog coats a sleeping city.

Those pale, hazel-blue eyes never left hers, never even blinked. He'd hung from those damnable chains for two days now, allowed his beautiful skin to be tarnished and tainted and yet he still healed, allowing it to go slow, allowing the pain to prolong and never utter a sound. It was rare if he ever spoke, and when he did, it usually meant he was about to kill you, and wanted to let you know what voice belonged to one of the most ruthless killers known to both magickal and humankind alike.

Even alive he had been very powerful, and now, being one of the undead, he was even more powerful and deadlier than ever before. The French would have loved him in the wars with Germany.

"Draco Chaisson, so you've finally come to Domino City, Japan. I'm surprised at you." She teased, stalking closer, putting an extra swing to her hips.

He simply raised a silvery eyebrow at her, his silvery-cerulean hair falling about his shoulders in waves of silken tresses. They barely hid his pointed ears complete with two earrings in each cartilage and in each lobe. The silver glinted in the torchlight that flickered from the walls. His face was marked on each cheek by jagged, ebony markings that also marked his wrists, ankles, upper shoulders, and hips. Resting in the middle of his forehead was a single lightning bolt shaped, jagged ebony marking. It shone against the pure olive-brown colour of his skin.

She came to a stop just in front of him, her hands resting on his bare shoulders, sliding down until they tugged at the tops of his leather pants. His toes curled from anger in his soft leather boots that rode to mid-calf with two silver straps tied tightly around the ankles of those boots. His eyes stared into her cold grey ones and he smiled, slowly at first, until it grew wider and just barely showed fang against his naturally deep crimson lips.

"You're smiling. Why?" Nikolaos asked, knowing when his hazel eyes sparkled she should have kept quiet.

"Because I don't like women." He hissed and kicked her. Before any of her 'pets' could get to the room, Draco Chaisson was gone, his weaponry, his coat, even his scent, completely wiped from the stone room. She threw back her head and let a howl rip from her throat and into the night. It wasn't the howl of a lycanthrope, but one of a ticked off vampyress saying she wasn't going to rest until the one who caused her anger was caught.

And killed, completely.

* * *

Jounouchi opened his eyes suddenly, jumping when the morning light flooding through the bedroom window blinded him. Wincing in pain, he felt the arms wrapped around his waist tighten before a mumbled voice spoke in French and he chuckled. 

"Morning, Seto." He murmured. The other replied noncommittally and sighed, pulling Jounouchi back down onto the bed, nuzzling the other's neck when the blonde softly moaned in pain.

"You're sore, aren't you?" That voice made him jump before wincing again when he laughed softly. Kaiba apparently wasn't all that much of a morning person, and if he was, he hid it well. But then again, they _did_ have sex the night before, so that might be part of it. . . .

His thoughts trailed when he felt Kaiba's hands wander down and up his front, as if searching for something, or memorizing him all over again. He shivered and snuggled his back closer to the brunette CEO who only smiled against his neck before pressing a gentle kiss there. "Maybe." Jounouchi finally replied, his voice just a tiny bit shaky.

Kaiba pulled away and chuckled when the other whimpered in protest.

"I don't want to get up, either, puppy, but I've got to take a shower." He said, kissing the other deeply as he leaned over him, their bodies pressing together once more.

Jounouchi leaned up into that kiss, arching his back so he met Kaiba's newly formed erection head on. The other moaned softly before moving away, obviously ticked that he had to do so, and walked across the brightly lit room to the bathroom. He paused at the door, turning back to face the other. "While I'm taking a shower, can you check on Mokuba? Make sure he's doing okay?"

The blonde smiled fondly, eyeing the other up and down once before nodding and rising to his feet, whimpering softly as pain shot up his back. Giving Kaiba what he hoped was a reassuring smile, he watched the other walk into the bathroom, leaving the door wide open. Why bother closing it? His thoughts exactly. Ask a stupid question.

Sighing, Jou began moving around the room, listening to Kaiba's mumbled curses as the freezing water touched his hand when he started it, then the even louder mumbled curses when the hot water kicked in suddenly. He laughed under his breath, a hand over his mouth to dull the noise further, when he heard (and half saw) the brunette stumbling about the bathroom shaking his burning hand.

"You alright, Seto?" He called and got a mumbled reply that sounded somewhere between "fucking water" and "yeah, couldn't be better." Which made him laugh all the harder. He walked over to Kaiba's chest of drawers and opened the top drawer, looking for a pair of pants. Luckily they'd discovered some two months before that they both wore the same size, though Jounouchi filled jeans better than Kaiba. No wonder the brunette always wore leather.

Snickering at his random thoughts, and the continued cursing in French coming from the bathroom, he gave up searching for a pair of Kaiba's jeans, pulled on his own from the day before and slipped out the bedroom, heading towards the kitchen on the first floor. Whence there, he found some pop-tarts - which really amazed him, what with the CEO being so rich and all, he had expected some robotic chef or something - and a can of soda from the refrigerator. Sitting down at the table, portable phone near him, he dialled Yuugi's number and waited, munching on a piece of pop-tart.

"Ohayo, Jounouchi!" A voice all but squealed through the line. Damn it! He dropped the pop-tart to the ground, falling back in the chair and toppling to the ground. Lucky for him, Kaiba had reinforced the walls of his home with the same paint he had at KaibaCorp. Trying not to let random tears fall from the pain of landing on his ass, he sighed deeply.

"It should be a crime for someone to be this cheerful in the morning." He mumbled.

Yuugi laughed and the blonde could have sworn he was hiding a cackle. "Sorry, Jou. Are you okay, I heard something crash?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just fell outta the chair I was sittin' in." He mumbled, his friend laughing through the line again.

"Gomen. How's everything?" The way he asked that made it sound like he already knew he and Kaiba had slept together.

And since that thought alone scared the hell out of him - the fact Yuugi might know he slept with Kaiba, not that he actually _did_ - made him decide to play coy. "Fine." He answered, sounding bland and sly at the same time. Why had he called Yuugi's house again?

"Oh, and what did you and Seto do last night?" That voice was Bakura's.

Damn. "Since when were you on first name basis with Seto?"

The white-haired thief hissed softly, playfully and yelped when a slap echoed over the phone. A deep chuckle sounded and Jounouchi knew instantly it was Yami. "Katsuya, Yuugi said you fell."

"Is that all he told you?"

"There's more." The way he said it made it a statement and the blonde knew the ancient ruler had an eyebrow raised. Just thinking about it made him shiver in memory of his stern crimson eyes before he and Kaiba had gone home last night. They'd agreed to let Mokuba stay at Yuugi's since they were closer to Domino Hospital if something terrible happened.

"Yeah, there is." He replied, rising to his feet finally, moving the chair back to its original place by the table and looking forlornly at his pop-tarts before walking over to the huge bay window that looked out into the backyard and the garden and other such things that lay within it. "We " He paused, took a deep breath and blurted, "We slept together."

Silence was his only answer.

Gods, this was _not_ his day.

* * *

By the time Kaiba came down the stairs into the kitchen, half following the scent of a wonderfully cooked breakfast, Jounouchi had hung up the phone with Yuugi and the rest, was doing a wondrously good imitation of a ripe tomato and was busy setting plates on the table. The brunette simply leaned against the door frame, watching it all, clad in a pair of dark blue-jeans with a button up navy, pointed-collar shirt, which he left unbuttoned, exposing his chest and had the long sleeves rolled up past his elbows. 

His rich brown hair looked black, still soaking wet, but drier than it had been a few minutes ago, and half falling into his eyes, the tips swaying just a few inches from his shoulders. Was he in need of haircut, probably so, did he care, not in the least. His icy midnight eyes followed the still mumbling, blushing Katsuya Jounouchi as he fumbled around the kitchen. Who knew the blonde could cook? Not him, obviously.

Jounouchi finally looked up as he was carrying two forks and two butter-knives in his hands to the table, spotted Kaiba and jumped. If it hadn't been for his graceful, oddly fluid, jump a second time, he would have been stabbed in the foot as the silverware went clattering to the floor. He looked sheepishly up at Kaiba who raised an eyebrow, eliciting an even darker blush from the blonde and a soft whimper when he half squatted to pick up the fallen silverware.

"How long have you been standing there?" The blonde asked, turning his back to his lover as he busied himself with preparing the last of their breakfast.

A pair of slender arms encircled his waist.

"Long enough to hear to you mumble about evil damnable Pharaohs that need to know too much and their opaque lovers that want to know even more." Was the reply in his ear. Normally he would have gasped in a mock-hurt way then run from the brunette. But the words were seductive and he fell under the spell of the creature holding him easily. It was almost creepy.

Leaning back into the arms that encircled him, those long, skeleton-thin fingers playing over his chest and waist line, he sighed deeply, closing his eyes. It felt wonderful to be in Kaiba's arms. Months ago, he would have killed anyone who told him he would end up feeling this way with the CEO. No matter who they were, he'd have killed them. Now, the thought alone seemed downright ludicrous and made him feel a tiny bit guilty for half insulting the brunette that way.

"You're quiet."

The blonde laughed: "I know."

"Why?"

Those hands began undoing his pants languidly.

"Memorizing the feel of you touching me."

Kaiba licked his ear, his right hand moving beneath his pants. Jounouchi moaned softly, tilting his head to the side as Kaiba's fingers just barely brushed him. The now achingly familiar touch of the other made him crave more than just that chaste touch. Seeming to sense this, Kaiba kissed the blonde's neck, listening to the soft sounds that echoed past his lover's lips. The thought of calling Jounouchi his lover made him jump and whoop and holler inside. The feeling it caused him was beyond words.

When his fingers curled around the blonde, the phone rang and they both jumped, moving away from the other as if they'd been burned. For a moment, they stood there, staring at each other, Jounouchi's pants undone, his eyes sparkling, and a slight blush steeling the blonde's cheeks. The phone rang a second time and Kaiba growled, went to grab the phone, but Jounouchi touched his hand. When it rang a third time, the blonde answered.

"Moshi moshi. Kaiba residence." Even to him, his voice sounded so very shaky.

"It's Ceilya." The voice on the other line said, the sound of it mere bells and chimes on the wind. Both men shivered.

"What's wrong?" Kaiba asked, clicking a button that put her on speaker phone.

A sigh sounded and the two lover's shared nervous glances before the vampyress answered. "Nikolaos has informed all the vampyres in the city that a new arrival has come. He arrived, apparently two nights ago, and she didn't think he'd be much harm." She paused and the silence was pure, no sound of breathing echoed across the line and into the utterly silent kitchen. "His name is Draco Maourí Chaisson, a vampyre from France." She continued, stopping there, waiting for them to ask questions.

Kaiba spoke up first. "Chaisson, wasn't he one of the Holy Warriors during the first crusades?"

Ceilya laughed softly. "You know your history, Kaiba. And to answer your question, yes, he was. However, he was brought over by Aikoyalin Nisao, the current ruler of the Vampyric Council. Unfortunately for us all, she disappeared some three hundred and fifty years ago. Nikolaos has spoken with him off and on over the last one hundred and thirteen years. However, when he came to Domino, she captured him, hoping to make him one of her pets."

"He doesn't like women." Jounouchi said suddenly, causing the brunette to jump and Ceilya to gasp.

"How did you know?" Her voice held something dark and mysterious in its depths. She didn't like Draco, either she did and he'd turned her down, or it was much more than that.

"It was simple. You told me and Kaiba that when a vampyre captures another master in their territory, hoping to make him or her their pet, they rarely refuse. It is especially said if the master is female and the one being offered the position is male. He refused, so he must not like women. And from the tone of your voice, you know from personal experience."

Kaiba just gaped at him. Ceilya remained silent.

"Is he always this attentive?" Ceilya asked, addressing Kaiba.

It took the brunette two tries to find his voice before replying, "Not normally. I'm a little frightened."

"Good to know. So am I."

Jounouchi growled in frustration, moving to lean back against the counter, having shut off the stove a few minutes before, his arms crossed over his bare chest, pants still undone, hair tousled still from sleep, and his cheeks stained a light red. In that one moment, Kaiba wished Ceilya hadn't have called. It made it too difficult and made him think of her even more eviler than before. But she wasn't the one they were fighting, it was this Nikolaos.

"Ceilya, you called to tell us about Chaisson for a reason, right?" Kaiba asked, looking away from his lover and out the bay window. If he didn't focus on something else, he was screwed. He needed to not look at his lover, he needed not to see how delicious he looked and remind himself of what Ceilya's call had interrupted.

"Yes, Draco requested to me personally, through Nikolaos and a few others, that you, Jounouchi, Yuugi and the rest to meet him at Le Darke Desires, a dance club in Akashi Square. He wishes to meet with you personally, Kaiba, Jounouchi. Says it's top priority." Ceilya said, her voice fading slightly.

"We'll talk to you later, Ceilya. Get some rest." Jounouchi said softly.

"Mercí." She replied in French and hung up. Kaiba pressed the button shutting off the speaker phone and hung up. Despite the fact that their problems with the undead community and the rest of the nonhuman side of things seemed to have gotten so much worse, tension sang through the air like miniature bolts of electricity. Jounouchi took a stalking step forward, stopping, waiting almost, for Kaiba to walk the rest of the way towards him.

He didn't have to wait long. Kaiba ran his hands up the blonde's bare sides, his fingers splayed wide over the smooth skin, his lips kissing up that chest, his tongue running over every dip and curve of muscle. Jounouchi made soft sounds in his throat, his eyes fluttering closed, head thrown back. When Kaiba stood, pressing himself against the blonde, he kissed him softly, gathering his attention to him once more.

"Shh, you'll wake the neighbours." He muttered teasingly, the blonde only pouted.

They met then in a fiery kiss, their tongues and lips working, hands clasped together, as if the one they held onto was a withering lifeline they dearly needed to hold on to. The tension in the air only continued to grow, and vaguely the two lovers knew it wasn't the half-neglected passion that caused it. It was something else. When they continued to kiss, the tension sang through them, throwing them apart, each landing some ten feet from the other.

Staring across the kitchen floor at each other, they both sat there, stunned. What had happened? Not wanting to wait to find out, they rose, Jounouchi running upstairs to pull on a pair of shoes and a loose, black T-shirt of Seto's that said, "Stop dreaming. Make it a reality." and dashed back downstairs, his hair messily combed. Kaiba motioned for him to get in the car and they sped off towards the Game Shop.

Because whatever had happened had left two long claw marks on both of their chests, and had written something in the floor. The latter they didn't know of, and didn't want to know of. For frankly, things had just gone from bad to much worse.

Nikolaos was pissed, and somehow, they both knew she wasn't going to calm down anytime soon.

* * *

Yuugi giggled softly as he listened to Anzu mutter about how Kaiba and Jounouchi bickered over whether they should wear matching outfits when they all went to meet up with Draco Chaisson and Ceilya Linderman that night. Oddly enough, it was even funnier still for the two were sitting at the same booth as the rest of them, each of them mock-glaring at each other. 

Yami shook his head, his hand resting in Yuugi's under the table, absently fingering the silver ring the other wore on his left hand. "Will you two stop it?" Honda finally snapped, his eyes gleaming dangerously.

Bakura's deep, dark laugh sounded as he and Ryou walked up, bags in their free hands. Almost a year ago now, Bakura had added some weird highlights to his hair so that whenever the light hit his locks just right the whiteness of them glimmered a pale blood-red, but it was rich and whole. Almost like he had been showered in human blood and neglected to wash it off properly. It was virtually the only thing that told them apart. Well, that and the fact Bakura's hair was spikier than Ryou's and his eyes held a more dark purpose in them. Though that was slowly, but surely, beginning to change.

"I see you've found everything," Jounouchi said, breaking the quarrel between him and Kaiba briefly, but not forever.

The thief nodded, smiling proudly of himself. "Yeah, and didn't steal a thing."

Ryou faked a cough.

Bakura only glared half-heartedly at him.

The two sat down and Kaiba and Jounouchi went back to bickering. Finally fed up, and not wanting to die from lack of air because she was laughing so damn hard, Anzu snapped quite indignantly, "Either you two shut up or I'll pick out your damn clothes for you!" She paused when they ignored her and she smirked devilishly. Honda and Yuugi scooped away from her. "And I'll find the pinkest, most frilliest thing I can find and make you wear it!"

That shut them up quite effectively.

Yami smirked, his crimson eyes glowing dimly, but the power was still there. "Kaiba," He started, staring pointedly at the brunette who only rolled his icy midnight eyes.

"If you so much as mutter one thing pertaining to my destiny, I'll pour a glass of ice water over your head." Kaiba warned, his look serious, but his eyes glowing with hidden laughter. Apparently, they had all found out the ancient Pharaoh didn't like cold water. It was somewhat like a phobia. A very funny phobia. Truth or Dare was a fun game.

Trying to look indignant while trying not to laugh, Yami continued, "Kaiba, when are we supposed to meet Ceilya? And where?"

Jounouchi answered the same time Kaiba did, "Seven thirty, Kaiba Mansion."

Everyone just eyed them oddly. So far only Yuugi and Yami knew the two had slept together the night before. And so far, Kaiba didn't know that the two spiky-haired guys knew. Here was hoping it remained a secret. Jounouchi sighed softly, laying his head on Kaiba's shoulders, his eyes drifting shut.

"Puppy?" Kaiba's soft voice echoed in his ear.

"Hmm?"

"You're drooling on my shirt."

The blonde sighed: "Tough luck."

"Are you at least going to stop drooling?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I know it irritates you now."

Kaiba hissed in frustration and crossed his arms, making his shoulders move to an angle that made them very uncomfortable to lean against. Jounouchi's honey-brown eyes glared at him.

"You're not fun." He muttered.

"Yes I am."

"Don't make me say it." Jounouchi warned, his eyes bleeding amber, but it was playful, not serious.

"So frightened." Kaiba retorted.

Meanwhile everyone else was just watching the two. It was as clear as day yet neither would openly admit to it. Funny how the heart works. They were surprised, however, when Jounouchi turned to them, a look that was purely evil in his amber irises, and a smile on his face that made Bakura feel proud. The blonde was learning! Yay!

"Hey everyone, Seto slHMMPH!" He started and was cut off when Kaiba clamped a hand over his mouth, his icy eyes serious and irritated. Jounouchi licked his hand and the other only smirked in return. But when Jounouchi licked his hand a second time, this time slower than the first he drew his hand back swiftly, but Jounouchi didn't miss the effect it had on him. The brunette's eyes showed him everything. Well, just about everything.

Anzu mumbled something and stood up, moving from the table, her cerulean eyes twinkling. "Come on, we only have to find something for these two love-birds to wear and we'll have to get back to the Kaiba Mansion or we won't have time to get ready."

Hadn't anyone told this idiot that the Kaiba Mansion had ten bathrooms? Not to mention half of them would be SHARING! Oh, but then again, one must take into account she was a girl, lonely, and would want to have a chance to peep in on one of the guys whilst they were bathing, getting dressed, or having a possible make-out session with their boyfriends. (A/n: I really hate Anzu! Sorry for those of you who don't!)

Really, one track minds were far too common these days.

Dutifully, they all rose, packages and all, making their way slowly through the mall until Yuugi squealed and ran towards a store. Yami jumped almost clear out of his skin and yelled in surprise when his fiancée dragged him by the hand into the store. The others had to run to catch up.

Once inside, they all knew instantly why Yuugi had squealed as loud and excitedly as he had. It was no mystery that the kid was kinky, but he was much more than that when alone, wound up, and highly intoxicated on the taste of his lover. This store showed them where he got his clothes, jewellery, and the Gods only knew what else.

The doorway of the store was arched and had shimmering silver streams hanging in their path as they walked in, the music playing inside the same industrial rock they'd be hearing at the club tonight and Jounouchi could only stare around at it all. Bakura had found a section devoted to whips, handcuffs, and various other torture devices. Ryou didn't even looked frightened as he joined his lover. The walls were draped in black tapestries with countless woven paints, some of the tapestries holding woven lettering in other languages. Some of them, Kaiba didn't even recognize.

However, the one thing that caught the two new lovers' attention were the rows of clothing towards the back. Rows of leather pants, shirts, straps, things of that nature lined the walls in the back and the racks that held some of them. Kaiba took Jounouchi's hand, smiling slightly as they looked around. Agreeing, finally, to wear two different things, they set off to find what they wanted and meet each other outside the store with Honda and Anzu. Otogi would be joining them later.

It wasn't long before they were all heading towards the Kaiba Mansion, trying to eye all their packages and be as discrete about it as possible. None were worried that Mai and Otogi would bring Mokuba safely to the mansion before they had to leave. Otogi had agreed to stay behind with Mokuba and Mai agreed to help guard the house. God forbid it was attacked again.

* * *

Everyone was sitting in the living room, waiting for Jounouchi to come downstairs. Yami and Yuugi stole quick glances at the CEO in question. He was a marvel to look at. Who knew that when dressed to look kinky and hilarious he'd make it look way beyond sexy and get anyone's hormones flowing faster than normal? 

His black leather pants were so well fit that they looked painted on more than anything else. The shimmer to them amazing, for it was the barest hint of cerulean and glittered whenever he moved. His tank top was much the same way, but it rode up slightly to show the tiniest strip of pale skin above his pants. Fishnet sleeves covered his arms, the edges trailing to a stop just before his finger-tips. A black, bullet belt was strung through the belt-loops, a second one, slightly larger than the first, was left to hang half off his hips. On his left bicep he wore two silver bands with Egyptian hieroglyphs on them, engraved in emerald and ruby. A single matching band rested on either wrist.

The pants fell down into a pair of soft leather boots the exact same material as the pants and shirt. They rode to mid-calf, with two silver straps buckled around his ankles. When he moved, the boots themselves made no noise whatsoever, no matter what type of flooring he walked on, they were completely silent. His hair had been spiked, a few long, sharp looking bangs falling into his face to frame his icy midnight eyes perfectly. Yuugi had added silver eye shadow to make the overall colour of those irises stand out all the more. Yami himself had done the kohl lines.

In all, the CEO looked down right amazing. But as he watched the stairs, attentively waiting for the last of their number to arrive, Yami knew that the light in those irises was something he hadn't really noticed before, until now. He'd seen that light before, but never recognized it before. It had to have been in the past. Suddenly, without warning, he saw a flashback of two men walking together. One dressed like a High Priest of the Pharaoh with the Sen'nen Rod in his left hand, his other clasped in the hand of the other who was dressed like a common peasant.

It was gone as quickly as it came.

Just then, Anzu and Honda stopped talking, Yuugi's hand tightened around Yami's and Kaiba gasped. Mai jumped and made a noise somewhere between a scream and a mewl of amazement, Otogi, oddly enough, doing the same thing. It was Mokuba who had broken the odd silence. "Shit." That one word spoke for them all.

Jounouchi stood at the top of the main staircase that lead from the living room to the second floor. His golden hair, usually unruly, had been pulled back into a low ponytail, giving it the impression that his hair was very short. Two locks fell forward to frame his face, the locks themselves tumbling over his shoulders in waves. His eyes were accented beautifully by kohl lines much like Kaiba's, but instead of silver eye shadow, he had a deep red that brought out the intensity of his honey-brown eyes, making them look amber and wolfish more than anything else.

On his biceps he wore twin black bands with a cobra curling off of each, the eyes of the twin snakes enlade with sapphires of the purest cobalt blue. On his wrists he wore a single ebony band with engraved silver Egyptian hieroglyphs. His leather shirt shimmered a deep crimson in the light that poured from the ceiling lights, and the lamps that lined the second floor hallways. It was sleeveless, much like Kaiba's, however there were no fishnet sleeves to replace the real ones. The material around the top of the arms was jagged, as if someone had shakily cut off the real sleeves.

The shirt itself rode up to show a fair amount of creamy-brown skin that seemed pale against the black. His black leather pants were tight enough to hint at what was hidden, but left enough concealed to allow the imagination to wander. The pants, like the top, shimmered a deep crimson in the light. He wore a crimson, studded-belt wound through the belt-loops with a second that hung off his hips perfectly. The pants ran down and ended in a pair of leather boots that rode to mid-calf with two crimson straps around each ankle.

Kaiba rose to his feet slowly, eyeing his lover with complete astonishment on his face. He then noticed what was around Jounouchi's neck. He'd seen that before! It was the Sen'nen Necklace. Why was he. . . .Shaking his head, not wanting to ponder it, he realized then that there was a glitter of silver around Jounouchi's face. Upon closer inspection he saw the earrings that ran up his right each from lobe to cartilage and the two earrings in his left lobe and single one in his left cartilage.

"Sugoi. . . ." He murmured, watching as the blonde walked down the stairs slowly. He had something draped over his arm. What, there was more? Had to be, couldn't be. His heart wouldn't be able to take it. Hell! His _body _wouldn't be able to take it.

When Jounouchi reached the bottom, he glanced over everyone, but those amber eyes rested the longest on Kaiba. He smiled, showing them all sharp, white canines that were growing longer. Ceilya Linderman, who had walked in the door just as the blonde had descended the stairs, smiled herself, showing her own fangs that were almost identical to the blonde's.

"Shall we go? Draco won't wait for very long." She said.

Kaiba jumped slightly, looking over his shoulder at her. "Yes. Let's go."

As he glanced back at Jounouchi, who fell into step behind him, he saw the other dawn a leather trench coat with crimson stitching and straps on the arms. The creature behind him was human, had to be, but in a way, Kaiba knew he wasn't. And, ironically enough, that thought didn't bother him as much as it should have.

* * *

End Chapter 10 of Forbidden Fruit

Okay people, that's the tenth chapter! Woot for me! Anyways, I know I said they'd meet Nikolaos and all this other stuff, but frankly, it would have been too long, and really, I didn't think you guys wanted me to have to edit a thirty-page long chapter and have screw it up which, by the way they've done before.

So there it is, the description of their clothing. However, may I say one thing? My friend, Lesharo DeSäal, has the exact same outfit Jounouchi is wearing in this chapter, and in the next, and possibly the next. Depends on how long Kaiba can keep from tackling him. Tee hee! So I was wondering what to have Jounouchi wear when Lesharo just shows up at my house out of bloody nowhere, dressed like that. I told him to hold still so I could describe it all.

Well, except for the arm bands, the outfit is exactly like his. That's about enough of my blabbering. So, thanks to all of you who've reviewed. **Assassino**, please review again! I love how you were straight to the point. And your character's in there. His name is Draco Maourí Chaisson. He's got a French name. :winks: Gomen, ignore some of that last bit, very hyper. Too much sugar is a bad thing for me.

Oh, and my last shout out goes to **GiddySchoolGirl** for all the cookies she sent me! Much thanks, love! And **Lord Kurama**, if you read this sometime, get your ass in gear and review! I miss you. :she digs her foot slightly into the ground, hands clasped behind her back, eyes and face in the perfect puppy dog look:

Arigatou, minna-san!  
-Wareta Shooki

Last Edited 3 / 11 / 05


	12. Chapter 11

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

Thanks to all of you who reviewed!  
I've almost got a hundred reviews, well close enough!  
All notes at bottom.  
Disclaimer in prologue.

Oh, and any songs that the characters begin singing at random points in this chapter,  
I own none of them. So we're all clear on those. And the ones I do own, you'll be sure  
to know about at the end of the chapter.

* * *

Forbidden Fruit  
Chapter 11  
Turning Point  
Part 2

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Crimson eyes stared around at the scenery as they continued driving down road after road towards Le Darke Desires. They'd entered Akashi Square some fifteen minutes before, all of them anxious. Though, as his eyes flicked to the two beside him in Kaiba's limousine, he realized not all of them were anxious. Some of their group were nervous beyond reason. 

Sighing, he sank further into the leather seat he sat in and closed his eyes. A gentle hand on his own were it rested on his left leg made him glance to the one who sat directly beside him. Amethyst eyes sparkled as they gazed into his own and with his other hand, he pushed aside the golden bangs that hung in that face to see the barest hint of the Eye of Horus on his aibou's forehead. Looking over his clothes for the seventh time in a space of five minutes, he smiled.

Yuugi had hidden his clothes from Yami, not letting the other watch him change as he always did. Even though they'd been sleeping together for more than two years it seemed odd that this time, the ancient Pharaoh wasn't allowed to see his aibou. Not heartbroken, he'd waited downstairs with the others and nearly dive-bombed the floor when he caught sight of his angel at the top of the stairs. Hell, even Kaiba had gawked like a deer in the headlights.

Pale skin shimmered with silver body glitter, his black, baggy cargo pants held to a slim waist by a silver studded-belt with a second hanging off his hips perfectly. He wore his traditional, almost trade-mark, black boots with the two straps wrapping around the shoes themselves. His chest was bare, showing dusky nipples that stood erect and pleading for attention. Around his neck hung a ankh necklace, the gold of it real and amazing as his aibou's pale skin. In his right ear rested a matching earring.

Gripping that hand that lay over is, Yami smiled. "I'm alright, aibou."

/ You sure/ Yuugi asked, his amethyst eyes worried as he used their mind link to talk.

/ Very. / Was the whispered response. Yuugi shivered involuntarily at the sound of Yami's low and husky voice. It was beyond sexy and made his body ache for the familiar touch of the other. Shaking his head at his koibito's smug smirk, he, like Yami, took in the other's clothes.

It was almost frightening how beautiful the Egyptian ex-Pharaoh really was. His tanned skin was completely natural, contrasting with his spiky hair, the ruby, ebony, and golden locks seeming to dance and shimmer. One lock never being the same colour all at once. Yami, himself, had adorned an Egyptian kilt held up by a crimson sash, the ties of which hung down in the front. Hanging down his chest, attached to a golden band around his neck, was the Sen'nen Puzzle, glittering in the passing streetlights.

Around his upper arms and wrists and ankles were identical golden bands. Around his forehead was a crimson 'crown' with a dangling gemstone that shimmered between amethyst and ruby. It was authentic and was a real stone Sorogoku Mutou, Yuugi's grandfather, had found in Egypt. Lavender scented oil coated the spirit's skin, making him smell enticing and amazingly exotic while he seemed to sparkle every time he moved.

"Ceilya, how much longer?" Anzu asked, smoothing down her leather mini-skirt with anxious hands. Her full chest was accented by a low-cut black shirt that read simply, 'You run from me. Just know that I can run faster.' The vampyress turned in her pale-green eyes to the cerulean-eyed girl and smiled, showing fang and not caring that it made the other shiver.

"Not much. We're almost there, in fact." Was the cool reply, the bells and chimes of her voice all the more pronounced as the night seemed to settle around her like a lover's arms. She was 'gothed-out' for want of a better word. Her long jeans had so many pockets and straps that they'd all given up on trying to count them all. Her shirt was a thin-strap tank-top and had crimson, dripping Egyptian hieroglyphs going down the front on the left and on the right in the back. Her left arm was adorned by jelly-bracelets of mostly black, red, and silver. Her right arm had a single crimson bracelet that seemed tight on her rather small wrist and more than made up for the some seventy bracelets on her other arm.

Around her neck hung a simple necklace, the lighting bolt pendant carved out of a sapphire stone that was pure and deep with swirls of pale-green that matched her eyes perfectly. Navy kohl lines marked her slightly narrowed eyes, the lighter navy eye shadow making those pale-green irises all the more brilliant and cunning. But that's all anyone saw them as. Eyes. She'd given them a small potion to keep them from falling under the spell of her eyes. It was only luck that she was a witch next to being a vampyress, among other things.

She sighed and turned her gaze back to stare out the window. The moon was almost full, two days from now it would sit beautifully in the sky. Odd how it was only October, the winter months and season fast approaching. Freak snow falls had been reported lately and try as she might, she didn't have to know what the human scientists thought to know what the _real _cause was. Bowing her head, she let another, softer sigh fall from her lips.

Kaiba was watching her avidly, as if trying to discern what was running through her mind. All he noticed was that her eyes seemed clouded with thought, her platinum-blonde hair so pale it was almost silver or white, but tonight it glittered silver in the moonlight that shone through the window. She'd pulled it back and up into a half-ponytail at the top of her head, the rest of those tresses falling around her shoulders in tight curls that bounced whenever her head moved.

Jounouchi touched his thigh and he jumped slightly, feeling guilty that he'd been staring at a creature he'd never understand. But when his icy midnight gaze met that of his lover, he let a soft sound of surprise, and perhaps fear, escape his throat. Those amber eyes stared at him, something sliding behind them. The blonde's hand slithered further up his thigh, closer to where Kaiba now wanted to beg him to touch. Seeming to sense this, Jounouchi pulled back.

"You're mine tonight." Was a soft, darkened whisper in his ear. If Kaiba wasn't in a limousine with a vampyress, a thief from the ancient past, an ex-Pharaoh from the same past as the thief, and caught in a scandal with creatures that weren't human, he'd have wondered as to how he heard his lover's voice like that when it wasn't possible for the blonde's tenor voice to drop that low.

His driver stopped then, pulling in front of a crowed dance club. The building looked like a converted warehouse, but it was too amazing to have been converted from something so... blech. The walls were painted in such a way that the crimson paint looked like dripping blood, the huge double doors that kept the inside of the club hidden were painted with odd symbols and characters that not even Kaiba could read. Two guards stood on either side, their muscular arms crossed, dressed in black pants and muscle T-shirts. Typical 'I'm big macho he-man bouncer person.'

He really needed to stop hanging around Mokuba so much.

Stepping out, he took Jounouchi's hand and pulled him close, bucking his hips against the other. "I'm always yours." He murmured in response before pulling away, but still holding onto Jounouchi's hand. Ceilya stepped out next with Anzu following. Then Yuugi and Yami. He blinked when he remembered Honda hadn't joined them. He wanted to stay with Otogi and Mai to help watch over Mokuba. Turning, he followed behind Ceilya who walked up to the two guards.

"Torulen." She said, her voice curving around the word that was so foreign he understood it.

The guard on the right smirked enough to show one fang. "Nor cata."

She hissed softly, pinning him to the wall so suddenly the other drew a dagger with a curved blade. "Back off him, bitch." The other hissed. The bouncers were twins, brothers. Odd and funny. Yami sighed in frustration and walked forward. His power permeated the air thickly, the golden Eye of Horus resting between his bangs on his forehead.

Pulling Ceilya off the other guard, he set her on her feet, giving her a pointed look. Blushing, she bowed her head, but shot the other, the one holding the unsheathed dagger, a deadly glare. He shivered and glared right back.

"Yori semry qern corte Atemu." Yami hissed. The one with the dagger dropped the weapon in surprise, picked it up swiftly and sheathed it. Both he and his brother knelt, speaking one then the other.

"My Lord. I am Aaron Kirkland at your service." the one on the left said, his dark blue eyes staring up at them. His brother stared at them with deep, dark gray-sapphire eyes. "My Lord. I am Jack Kirkland at your service."

Everyone stared at the two and Yami in utter surprise, even Kaiba was gaping like a demented looking blow-fish. Jounouchi laughed softly when he caught sight of this and the CEO let his mask fall back into place. Snickering softly, they turned to the small group.

"Ltre suoi nyen aysa." Yami hissed.

Aaron and Jack opened the doors immediately, ushering them all in. Yami and Ceilya waited until the other had walked in before following. Once inside, they all gasped. The space of Le Darke Desires was huge, beyond that even. Three floors held four large dance floors each. Pounding industrial rock, techno dance mix, and rap played on either of the three floors. A bar rested on each floor as well. Tons of people danced and talked, ran after others and so forth.

To the far right stood a huge HDTV, the screen holding one person as he stood on a stage erected in front of it. The song currently playing pounded loudly, but when the music faded out slightly, his voice took over, singing beautifully.

"I wake up to find myself, after all these years. And though all the time has gone, it still seems so unreal. Cause there's no one else, since I found you. I know it's been so hard. . . you should know. . ." As he trailed off his the music kicked in but not as loudly as before. "If I die tomorrow! As the minutes fade away, I can't remember. . . Have I said all I can say. You're my everything, you make me feel so alive. . . If I die tomorrow. . . .!"

Kaiba smirked, watching as Ceilya seemed to swoon over the man. He was dressed in tight black pants that looked more like breeches from the middle-ages and a black tunic. The shirt underneath was a pristine white, the sleeves billowing down his arms and tightening at the cuffs. His olive-brown skin glittered bronze in the light as he continued to sing. Pale, hazel-blue eyes seemed to captivate the audience before the song ended and they broke into uproarious applause.

Yami slipped an arm around Yuugi's bare waist as the man walked towards them. His silvery-cerulean hair was pulled into a high ponytail, showing pointed ears and two earrings in each cartilage and lobe. He didn't have any make-up on, but then again, he really didn't need it. His beauty was enough to entice anyone, male or female. Who was he. . .

The click of soft boots reached their ears as the man approached them, his eyes locked on Ceilya's. She whimpered softly, moving forward to kneel at his feet, her hands on his waist as she looked up at him. His smile made his eyes light up and she went to pull back but he shook his head. "I am not angry at the touch, ma petite sherí, just a little worried." His voice was deep and mysterious, scintillating fangs shining against naturally deep crimson lips.

He turned his gaze to Kaiba who raised an eyebrow, jumping slightly when Jounouchi's hand found his own and squeezed. That pale, hazel-blue gaze turned to Yami and Yuugi then to Anzu. His eyes rested on hers and he looked closer. Taking a step forward, he moved around Ceilya, leaving her where she stayed kneeling on the floor. Reaching out a nimble, skeleton-thin hand, he cupped Anzu's chin, moving her head left and right to look at her more closely.

"She looks almost exactly like her." He murmured.

Ceilya's eyes widened as she stood swiftly to her feet, no one seeing her move but the vampyre and Jounouchi.

"Draco, leave her alone. She isn't who you think she is."

His gaze was hard and furious when he looked at her. She took a cautionary step back and whimpered softly. Life was just too cruel to her. Really it was sometimes. Anzu's cerulean eyes widened in fear before she tried to step back, but Draco's eyes pinned her to the air in which she stood, the fear in her eyes only increasing.

"Please let me go." She whispered, her voice soft and distant.

Jounouchi sniffed the air briefly than stared hard at Draco. "I believe she told you to let her go. Or will you allow the need for information douse your honour?"

Those cold eyes turned to him staring into the wolfish amber eyes of the blonde-haired teen. He turned to Anzu and smirked, leaning close he whispered for only her to hear. "By the end of the night we will see if you are a reincarnate of her. Even if that means making you mine, I will know the truth." Hearing this Anzu kicked him and ran to hide behind Yami who's crimson gaze was not happy.

"Draco, please, stop this." a gentle, flowing voice whispered.

They all turned to see another man walk up, his forest green eyes beautiful as they reflected the strobe-lights and the other various lights in the club. He was dressed in a simple pair of black jeans torn in the knees and various other place. His silver, button-up shirt was left open so you could see the bare, pale chest beneath. On his paper-white stomach rested a red dragon curing up a long sword. Above were the words, "Moonlight of Dragons." in French.

"Erik, why are you... " Draco was cut off when Erik put a hand over his mouth.

"You'll be quiet now. We didn't agree to meet the lady and her friends tonight to fight them, and you know that." Erik's voice was still gentle and flowing. He sighed and, with his hand still over Draco's mouth, the other glaring daggers at him, he turned to the rest of them. "Forgive my rude lover, he's not accustomed to Japan just yet. I am Erik Jenkins, pleased to meet all of you."

Kaiba stepped forward first to shake his hand. Their eyes met and for a moment they shared an understanding. Both had lovers that were outspoken and didn't really stop to think over their words. Smirking, the CEO let Jounouchi shake Erik's hand then the rest of them. Erik looked at Draco who licked his hand. The green-eyed man just shook his head.

"If I remove my hand will you promise to be polite?" Erik asked.

His answer was a serious of angry mumbles. "Eh, good enough."

Removing his hand, Erik and the others watched Draco regain his voice, open his mouth to yell, thought better of it, changed his mind, and turned to Ceilya. "There's a room in the back. Harry's agreed to let us use it to talk for tonight."

The green-eyed vampyress nodded and followed behind Draco and Erik as they walked towards the bar. Kaiba couldn't help but feel like what he was doing was wrong. Yet, he was only getting information on the one that was trying to attack him. But if so, then why did he feel like he'd just made a horrible mistake?

* * *

Erik closed the door to the private room behind the bar when they were all inside and seated. He sat in a chair to the left of the door, Draco at his feet, the vampyre staring at them in an almost kind manner. But Kaiba could tell that he wasn't happy. That thought alone almost made him feel sorry for Erik when the night was over with. Just then a thought occurred to him. Was Erik human, or not? 

"Go ahead, guys, ask them any question." Ceilya said.

Before Kaiba could even think of how to phrase his question, Jounouchi spoke up from where he sat on the couch beside him, hand on his thigh. "Why is Nikolaos coming after Seto?"

Draco's smile wasn't pleasant. "She's trying to destroy a prophecy. Or at least that's what she told me."

"A prophecy?" Yuugi prompted, his amethyst gaze curious. Draco turned to him as if just seeing him truly for the first time. Moving to his knees, he crossed the floor to sit between the spiky-haired teen's spread legs, Yami sitting behind him in the same manner, his arms locked possessively and protectively around his bare waist.

"You hold no fear of who you sit with in this room, do you?" He asked.

Yuugi only shook his head.

"Then let me see if you fear our touch instead." With no warning whatsoever, Draco enveloped Yuugi in a kiss, his hands playing down his chest. The air around them changed immediately. It went from comfortable and easy-going to thick and full of such fear that no words were there to describe it. Draco pulled away swiftly, his eyes blazing in response to the power that had cast him from the pale boy. "My, my, a powerful one you are."

A snort sounded and all eyes turned to Kaiba who held up his hands in a sign of innocence as Jounouchi's eyes locked onto Draco's. Those wolfish eyes had just the tiniest hint of humanity in them, but not by much. Ceilya shifted uncomfortably and let out a soft sigh, the sound barely heard. Erik stood, his strides graceful as he stopped to grip Draco by the collar of his tunic and drag him back to where he'd been sitting two minutes before. Glaring right back at him, he mumbled something incoherent and when the vampyre tried to yell he found he had no voice for it. So, instead, to the surprise and delight of some of the others, he gestured rudely and adopted a pouting position at his lover's feet.

Erik turned those forest green eyes to Yami whose crimson ones were blazing, the Eye of Horus on his forehead almost like a miniature sun. "I am sorry, Pharaoh, about Draco. He was . . . always drawn to those of power. That's why I always wonder why it was he chose me of all people. . ." He trailed off, running a hand through his auburn-brown hair.

"Erik, exactly what are you. . .?" Kaiba's voice cut the eerie silence that followed the unknown creature's words like knives cut bread on a Sunday afternoon. Yet, in his voice was the tiniest bit of hesitation that shouldn't have been there. He still felt like he was doing something terribly wrong, like there was something he should have done that he'd forgotten to do. . .And that now, or soon, it'd be too late. When those dark eyes turned to him he flinched at the look in them. "I mean, as it is, half of us here aren't near being human. I was wondering if I and Katsuya were the only ones."

A pause followed this, a look of concentration overtaking sharp features that minutes before had been soft with easy contempt. Now it was as if they'd undergone a transformation that Kaiba, himself, had missed. But when those eyes lifted to his own icy midnight ones, he found himself drowning in them and somehow he knew instantly what the man was. And it wasn't close to being human.

"You're a necromancer." His voice, even to him, sounded so distant and strange.

"I am. But, Kaiba, tell me, how is it you knew that. . . .?" Erik's voice was almost utterly silent.

Yami and Yuugi exchanged a sharp glance that said it all. Anzu looked nervously over at Ceilya who shrugged and shifted so she was sitting more comfortably against the wall she'd leaned against. Jounouchi shivered slightly and touched Kaiba's arm, the brunette jumping slightly from the touch. Paranoid, who him?

"Seto, somethin' is wrong. I don't wanna stay here any longer." There it was again! That damn change that often happened with the blonde teen. Almost nineteen now, he wasn't the same stupid, puppy-like teenaged-duelist he had been in the tournaments and everyday life. He'd grown into something much more complicated than himself, and that was saying a _lot_. No longer did wolfish amber eyes stare at him, but honey-brown eyes that looked dead and lonely. The fire that he'd always seen in those honey-brown irises had faded. Sighing, he stood.

"Alright." He consented, not knowing what else to say. He couldn't argue, what would the point be anyway? He'd lose the fight, feel guilty later for yelling, and apologise for being an idiot. Glancing briefly at the vampyres and necromancer in the room, he bowed deeply, never taking his eyes from any of them. Save for maybe Ceilya. But that was a major 'if.'

"Seto. . . please. Da feelin' is gettin' worse." The other whimpered. Kaiba pulled him close as the other shivered and wrapped his arms around him.

"It's alright, puppy, we're leaving." Kaiba whispered, his voice so soft he barely heard the words he, himself, had spoken.

Yami rose, pulling Yuugi to his feet as well. Anzu twitched slightly. For a moment, they all stood there, completely silent and in utter wonder as to what to do next. The silence was shattered by a high pitched ringing that made both Draco and Ceilya jump up and latch onto one of the walls of the room, Erik to hiss softly and Yami and Yuugi to twitch. Anzu just stared at the phone as if she knew all along it would ring.

Taking it out of his pocket, Kaiba flipped it open and said, "Seto Kaiba speaking."

"_K-Kaiba. . ._" A voice filtered through the line, sounding shaken and frightened beyond reason. Everyone froze, Draco and Ceilya crawling down from the walls as they looked at the phone as if it had just morphed into some monster worse than them. If that were possible. "_Sh-she came b-back. . . He's-he's dying. . . I t-tried to s-save him-m . . . ._" Silence reigned after that.

"Who is this? Who came back? What the fuck are you talking about?" Kaiba snapped, his voice quivering with a fear he didn't know existed anymore.

"_Iilya Ah'kentyah. . . S-she broke in s-somehow. . . .M-Mokuba. . ._" A scream sounded and the voice grew fast and urgent. "_Ryuuji Otogi. . . Mai Valentine . . . Hiroto Honda. . . we're a-all trapped i-in y-your mansion. . . w-with a monster. We're dying, K-Kaiba. S-save us. . . please!" _Another scream sounded and this time everyone in the room heard the desperate plea that rode on that single scream.

"**_SETO HELP US! PLEASE BIG BROTHER, HELP US!_**"

The line went dead and Kaiba's blood ran cold. Shivering, he gripped the cell phone tightly, and before anyone could stop him, ran from the club, calling his limousine driver as he ran. Jounouchi and the rest followed soon after. Yet, as Kaiba ran, a single voice echoed to him from memory. Something he had heard the one who ran behind him now say. And never until just then, did he realize the meaning behind the words.

_He's stickin' wit ya now, Kaiba. But one day, ya won't be dere ta save 'em, and then he's gonna be lost forever. And ya know what else? He's never gonna forgive ya. _

Glancing over his shoulder as he ran down the street from Le Darke Desires towards where he'd told his driver to meet him, he saw that two Sen'nen Items glowed behind him. One was the Sen'nen Puzzle of the Pharaoh Yami Atemu, the other. . . . Was the Sen'nen Necklace of the lycanthrope Katsuya Jounouchi.

The cold only seemed to grow.

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End Chapter 11 of Forbidden Fruit

Oh my gods! That was one bumpy chapter! Sorry it took so long to update chapter 10 and this one. I've been having trouble with school and all. Thank the darkness the year's almost over for me. But, unfortunately that means state testing and end of the year exams and all this other shit. Yippee for me!

Anyway, many thanks to those of you who've reviewed so far. **GiddySchoolGirl **I am SOO very thankful for the fifteen dozen cookies you sent me. They've really helped. Also, on another note, there will be a sequel after this, and it will be titled: Pleasures of the Guilty. Why is it being called that? Ha ha, not tellin' you guys that. You'll know half of the reason by the end of this story.

One last thing before I stop babbling, I'd like to point out that this fanfic is almost at an end. I had many questions come up in reviews. So, I'll answer some of them now.

Q: Is Kaiba human or something else?  
**A: He isn't human, but he isn't one of the 'monsters' either. Hope it helps.**

Q: Will Jounouchi ever change into a real werewolf during this story?  
**A: Yes, in chapter 13, he will change.**

Q: When are the Yuugi-tachi and Kaiba going to fight Nikolaos?  
**A: Very, very soon.**

Mou . . .! That's all for this chapter. Hope you all keep reviewing! Thanks for everything you guys!

Arigatou, minna-san!  
-Wareta Shooki

_Last Edited 3 / 17 / 05_

As a special St. Patrick's treat, and because I've neglected to update in forever, go ahead and read Chapter 12.


	13. Chapter 12

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

WARNINGS: Character death, mention of long-term abuse,  
and detailed fight and death scenes.  
Thanks for all the reviews.  
Other notes at bottom.

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Forbidden Fruit  
Chapter 12  
Lascivious Darkness

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A black, long-stretch limousine pulled in front of the half-secluded Kaiba Estate. Only few lights shined in the huge, four-story house. But even then all those that stepped from the limo knew that those lights were only on for their benefit. Or so they thought until one by one the lights went out, and one by one, everything seemed grow all the more hopeless and cold.

A pair of icy midnight eyes shined in the darkness of the limousine. Those gathered around him shivered and he felt power ride the air. Power he knew before, power he'd sensed before, and power he never even knew existed. With a sigh, he tapped a small lamp on the table in the middle of the limo's floor. Light flooded the vehicle and Kaiba realized there were two more pairs of eyes in his car than he originally thought there to be.

"Bakura, Ryou. So glad you could make it." His voice made everyone jump and turn to look where he was staring directly across from himself and Jounouchi at the two, white-haired teens. Bakura's ruby-chocolate eyes were gleaming and only Yami knew what that look meant. Whatever happened in that house would be a game to Bakura, and a nightmare for the rest of them. Sometimes it was good to be on the same side as the tomb robber.

"Good evening, Kaiba. I'm glad you invited us. I wouldn't have missed the fun for anything." Those eyes stopped looking out the window at the house and turned to the CEO of KaibaCorp. When icy midnight met ruby-chocolate something in the air spiked and Anzu cried out softly in pain. Ryou's calm chestnut eyes turned to her briefly before they snapped back to the window when he saw movement.

"Kaiba," his voice was thicker than usual, his accent all the more prominent when he was frightened or angry. . .or virtually high on any emotion for that matter. "Do you have any silver crosses on you, any at all?"

Those cold eyes turned to him. "Why?"

Before Ryou could answer, Jounouchi spoke up. "I do."

Yami's voice cut the silence like a knife. "What? I thought you weren't faithful to the God of the Christian faith."

Jounouchi's smile wasn't pleasant. "I'm not. But I am faithful to _a _God, and that has to be good enough. I always carry at least three high silver-content crosses with me." He sighed and shook his head. "My little brother was taken by vampyres when I was younger. He was born before Shizuka. After the attack, I didn't want to feel helpless. I knew what had mutilated his body, and I knew that if I ever told my mother or father, I'd never have the chance to save another."

Kaiba had gone very, very still, almost seeming to seep back into the shadows that played tricks around the interior of the limousine. His eyes were dark, but in their depths was an angry fire. Jounouchi had had a little brother, just like him. And he'd lost him to the monsters. Yet, Kaiba glanced at the blonde in question who was talking amicably with Draco on the events of the night of his brother's death, he'd kept going, vowing to himself to stay strong for his brother and save another if the occasion ever arose. As it had now.

Before he knew it, the CEO already had a plan.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think I just came up with a plan to get us in there, save those trapped inside, and get out alive." At his words, everyone turned to face him. "Okay, Jounouchi has three crosses on him right now. And as far as I know there are three humans in this car that will need the extra help, along with something more." For a moment he paused. "Masaki," Anzu jumped at being addressed so formally by the brunette, "you will ride with my chauffer to the police and tell them a crime is in progress. If they ask what has happened, tell them anything but that we came here knowing what was going on inside. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I understand perfectly." She replied, her voice steady, cerulean eyes darker than normal. She was determined not to let any of her friends die. But it seemed pointless to her if they got out of this mess alive only to go to jail for some reason they didn't even understand.

Next, Kaiba turned to Erik, Draco, and Ceilya. "All three of you have enough power to keep anything coming after you at bay unless you're seriously wounded. Draco, go around the back of the mansion, but travel along the gate. At least ten paces from the wall is a chain. Pull it and a trap door will appear. I trust you can work the controls and hack into the mainframe, allowing yourself access to the controls without setting off an alarm?"

"Of course. I'm glad you think so highly of me, Seto Kaiba." Draco replied, pale, hazel-blue eyes sparkling with his near-excitement.

"Erik, you'll go with Ceilya to the second floor balcony. If all goes well, you'll be able to get into my little brother's room. Under the bed is a safe with the combination 13 07 98 17 03. In there are hopefully enough weapons from any era that you'll be able to wield with ease." He turned to Yami and Yuugi. "Yami, since you already have the power of the Sen'nen Puzzle to create light and a barrier around you, Yuugi will be the one to receive the first cross. I'll give you your weapons in a few minutes." The two nodded and Kaiba turned to Bakura and Ryou.

"Bakura you've enough power without the Sen'nen Ring to create light and even then nothing can catch you. Am I correct?" The tomb robber nodded, an odd grin lighting his features. "Then Ryou will receive the second cross. . . ."

And it continued for some time. As Kaiba told everyone what they'd do, he pulled out a blue print of the entire Kaiba Estate from a hidden compartment in the floor of the vehicle. Spreading it across the table, he pointed to various hidden doors that no one but he and Mokuba had known about. He showed them underground tunnels that had been built with the house, rooms that existed behind seemingly solid walls that would 'evaporate' until the person desiring to pass through them was safely on the other side, and much more.

When, finally, everyone knew what to do in case of an emergency bigger than what they were charging into, Kaiba pulled something out from the same hidden compartment as the blue prints. The safe was some four feet long and two feet wide. Quickly putting in the combination, he flipped open the lid and smirked at the weaponry he'd accommodated over the years. Jounouchi let out a low whistle in liking as he picked up twin daggers. The silver blades were wavy; ceremonial daggers used most often in necromancy rituals of calling the dead. The hilts were golden with two figures carved upon them. On the left one the Egyptian Goddess, Isis was carved, on the right the Egyptian God Osiris was carved.

"Can you use them, Katsuya?" The blonde nodded. "Then their yours to keep." Turning to everyone else, he told them to each grab one sword or gun, but make sure they were able to wield the weapon they chose before taking it. Whenever the answer was yes, the weapon became theirs. "Okay, listen up, one last thing before we go in there."

Silence ensued and everyone turned their gaze to the CEO, his icy midnight eyes were over bright and looked as if he were caught in the throws of passionate love-making, but the fire in those icy depths was different somehow. It was angry, but it was calm, and it wanted blood more than anything. Blood of the ones who had dared harm his little brother. Jounouchi touched his hand gently where it rested over the gun at his hip and the sword laid across his lap soon to be strapped to his back.

Kaiba gripped his blonde lover's hand tightly before he spoke, "We're going to go in there and we're going to come out. I will not settle for failure unless every other option is used up before hand. If you cannot save either Ryuuji Otogi, Mai Valentine, or Hiroto Honda, that is not my fault. For the main reason I am running in there is because of Mokuba Akieto Kaiba. He will walk out those front doors one way or another. But he will walk out alive." He paused and sighed. "I've done much worse things in my life than run into a house with monsters pouring from every shadow. But this, by far, is the scariest thing I've ever done, and hope nothing else will best it."

A long silence followed this before Jounouchi's eyes turned amber and wolfish and he smirked, showing one long, deadly looking fang. "Let's do it."

With those words, the light of the lamp was extinguished and in the last few seconds in the dark, lovers and friends shared soft good-byes in case neither saw the other again for a long time. They only hoped it wouldn't really be good-bye.

* * *

Yami moved in the front door, watching as Draco's form disappeared around the side of the house. Erik and Ceilya had already reached the second floor balcony and had snuck in through the doors without tripping an alarm. Yuugi gripped his hand tightly as the ancient Pharaoh moved to flick on the lights. The minute he did so, he wished he hadn't when Yuugi screamed in fright in their mind link, sending his vision into stars before it cleared. 

And when it did, his heart stopped almost.

The entire downstairs living room which the foyer led into was bathed in blood and gore. What appeared to be a body lay on the couch as if the person was merely sleeping. But upon closer examination, Yami found it was Iwamoto, Kaiba's second head of security. Blood dripped from the high dome ceiling, bones and body parts scattered like a child's playthings. Yuugi had buried his face in his side and Yami shivered slightly. He didn't like the feel of this place. Even he could smell the fear in the air, and it wasn't from Yuugi. The amethyst-eyed teen wasn't afraid of what they were facing. He was sad that they hadn't been able to save Iwamoto.

Something told Yami that Iwamoto wasn't the only one these monsters had gotten to. A shadowy movement to his left made the ancient ruler jump and look swiftly to the movement. Caught in the light made from the lamps and overhead chandelier, was a small boy. Wide eyes stared at him, one bloodied and half closed. Open wounds and blood littered his body. If it hadn't have been for the boy's one good, violet-sapphire eye he would have shot him.

"Mokuba!" He hissed.

The boy's body stiffened before he ran forward. Yami hugged him briefly as Yuugi enveloped the hurt child into his arms, holding his almost dead weight easily. "Did Seto really come for us. . .?" was the soft question in the amethyst-eyed teen's ear. Yuugi nodded, whispering. "Yes. Hold on and we'll get you out of here."

"No, you won't. He's mine and I'm not letting him go so easily." A calm voice whispered.

Cerulean eyes flashed in the shadows of the kitchen entrance that Mokuba had been running across when Yami had caught the movement. Ruby hair as red as the blood that coated the walls, floor, and furniture became visible as the speaker jumped into the light easily, the movement showing it had muscles in places normal humans didn't. Yuugi growled softly, much to Yami's surprise and the ex-ruler watched as the boy's cross blazed half-heartedly. This creature was only half vampyre. Goodie.

"Who are y"

"You already now me, _Yami_." That calm voice hissed softly.

"No. . ." Crimson eyes widened as Fahren Faolan became fully visible. Other than the extremely short mini-skirt with blue flames and matching top that looked more like a strapless bra than anything else, she was utterly deprived of clothing. Thick, warm power suddenly flooded the room and Yami staggered backwards into Yuugi as the two were knocked to the bloody floor. The amethyst-eyed teen ushered Mokuba to run.

"Go find Kaiba! He's outside waiting for us to " His words were cut short as Yami screamed as Fahren tore his right leg, almost exposing white bone as flesh and muscle parted like paper for her talons to tear into.

Mokuba ran out the still open front door just as a blinding golden light engulfed the entire living room of the Kaiba Estate as a high pitched howl rode the air before silence followed. He kept running, ignoring the pain in his left leg as the broken appendage was forced to move for him. He felt the darkness of a comatose sleep overtaking him and willed it back. If only for a while longer. He'd vowed that he wouldn't die in that house in nothing but fits of fear and regret. He just wouldn't.

He ran into something tall and solid. Falling on his bruised back, he opened his eyes wearily to peer into what he'd hoped would be a pair of icy midnight eyes. But instead these eyes were a cold grey, he whimpered and tried to scramble away. However, a quick hand shot out, grabbing him and pulling him against a fully matured body, but the voice that flowed from it couldn't have been that of a girl much older than him.

"Come, Mokuba, you don't want to miss what's in store for your brother and friends." She licked his ear and he screamed, loud and angry, using what was left of his strength and voice to scream for help. The night only echoed it back to him and he soon gave up.

But before he fell into that comatose sleep, he hissed softly so he knew the vampyress holding him could hear: "I won't die so easily, Nikolaos. . . And neither will my brother."

She only laughed as she held him. "Of course, little one. Of course."

* * *

Kaiba and Jounouchi entered from a side door when Yuugi signalled to them it was alright to enter. As he flipped on the lights, he hissed and couldn't find the will power in him to turn them off again when he saw the room. It was his personal office, the only room with a ceiling fan in the entire estate. For some reason, he'd liked the fan, now the effect and likeness was destroyed. 

Roland hung from the fan, spinning as the slow moving machine spun around and around. He hung by what could only be a piece of skin wrapped around his neck. Blood dripped slowly to the floor in drops that echoed like thunder in his ears. When Jounouchi tried to step past him, he shielded his eyes and whispered softly, "No. You won't see this, Katsuya."

The other protested but when he sneaked a peek he yelled in surprise and buried himself against Kaiba. The other sighed softly and shivered, holding the other close. When the younger blonde had stopped shivering he stepped back slightly and looked anywhere but at Roland. Those eyes were clouded and wide with fear. A few feet from where the head of security hung from the ceiling fan was a cell phone. Kaiba reluctantly picked it up and searched the last number dialled. It had been (03) 1307 - 2431. His own cell number.

"Shit. He was the one that called you." Jounouchi's voice was soft near his ear. He jumped, feeling paranoid and not liking it.

"Yeah he was." Kaiba murmured and looked back at the dead man. "The only question is. . . what killed him?"

They both moved from the room and into the living room. Pausing when they saw Fahren Faolan standing over a Yuugi, her hands moving down his body, an unconscious Yami laying off to the side in a pool of his own dark blood, the light flooding from the chandelier making it glimmer, the world seemed to fade out and come back in. Jounouchi took one look at the couch were Iwamoto lay dead, eyes closed as if in sleep, on hand hanging lazily off the couch, and let out a sound somewhere between a howl and a yell of unleashed fury. Kaiba watched as the Sen'nen Necklace flared to life, the Sen'nen Puzzle gleaming in response as the blonde rushed Fahren, knocking her off the fearful, quivering form of his best friend.

She shrieked and threw them both into a roll. Kaiba found himself running to Yuugi and Yami as he yelled, "Her stomach, Katsuya! It's her weak-spot!" How he knew this, he wasn't sure, but he did and told his lover as the said blonde kicked Fahren in her stomach making her double over before he landed a swift kick to the side of her face and let out a roar of pure anger and fury, unsheathing the twin daggers at his sides when she got up and charged him again.

Kaiba glanced up in time to see Jounouchi cut Fahren across the waist, spilling her intestines and bodily fluids all over the floor. As she fell, she opened her mouth to curse him in death but he beheaded her. Her body fell to the ground with a soft _thump _and the CEO shuddered. Yami opened his eyes slowly and groaned. Yuugi crawled over to him, touching his cheek.

"Yami. . . don't leave me." the amethyst eyed boy whispered, voice quivering with sadness and fear the likes of which Kaiba had never seen before. A sound of passing wind echoed around the room and the clash of metal on metal as two beings hissed at each other brought all three of their attentions to the small battle going on a few feet from them.

Jounouchi was battling a tall, paper-white vampyre with long, curly black hair and glowing red eyes. His body was covered in black leather with expert tears in the fabric itself. His long sword was blocking an attack from Jounouchi's right and left daggers as the other vampyre, a female with bright golden hair cropped short enough to spike with wholesome baby blue eyes came at him from behind.

He didn't think as he raised the Browning High-power and shot two Glazier Safety Round bullets into her chest. One struck her in the left shoulder, blowing it to pieces in a shower of blood, bone, and muscle tendons. The second bullet hit her square over the heart, blowing a hole in her chest wide enough to stick a hand through. Her baby blue eyes widened in astonishment as she reached towards Jounouchi, but fell to the ground too far out of reach. The taller, ruby-eyed vampyre hissed in anger as he attacked Jounouchi more fiercely.

Once more, before he even thought about it, Kaiba yelled, "Katsuya get _down_!" The blonde ducked as one bullet hit the vampyre in the back of the head, showering brains, blood, and thicker fluids over the floor and wall behind the half kneeling blonde as a second one hit him in the chest, taking out his heart like the one that had taken out the female's heart. Kaiba finally regained his right mind, whatever that meant, and took deep, slow breaths. Yami looked at him surprise, his body already having healed itself mostly due to the power of his Sen'nen Item. Yuugi was holding onto his dark with white knuckled hands.

Before any of them could speak a scream rent the air and Jounouchi whispered, still standing amidst the carnage surrounding him, daggers gleaming brightly in the light, the blood twinkling oddly, "Otogi."

With Kaiba and Yuugi's help, Yami rose to his feet, caught his balance, and ran after the blonde as he tore up the stairs to the second floor. He paused, waiting for something. Then a thought occurred to Yuugi. Where was Mokuba? Had he reached Kaiba? Judging by the fierce, determined fire in the brunette's eyes, he still hadn't found the black-haired Kaiba-brother. With a growl so dark and angry that Yami inquired as to its reason through their mind link, Yuugi spoke softly.

"Their Mistress has come out of hiding."

"Yes, indeed she has." Iilya Ah'kentyah said as she sauntered from the shadows, her green eyes glittering brightly. In her arms she held an unconscious Ryuuji Otogi. Behind her stepped a taller woman, cold grey eyes looking like chips of darkened moonlight.

"Welcome, Seto Kaiba and others, to the gathering of the Darké Enyäto." Her voice echoed like ripples in a too still, gloomy lake. Kaiba stared at her and his heart clenched. This was the bitch behind it all? His blood boiled and his vision grew dark as he seemed to see everything through an icy dark blue haze. Taking a slow step forward, he lunged at Iilya, side-stepping Nikolaos as he knocked the female vampyre to the ground, Ryuuji Otogi falling to the floor limply, his body seeming to become only dead weight.

Kaiba let out a scream as Iilya slashed him along the chest, right over the first place Fahren had cut with her dagger some four months before. Shivering with what had to be anger, he couldn't afford to feel fear right then, the brunette raised the Browning High-power and sighted down the barrel at her chest. "You twitch and you're dead. It's just that simple."

Silence reigned before Jounouchi's yell sounded, shrill and fearful. Kaiba turned just in time to see the blonde be overcome as a horde of shadows enclosed over him. Running forward, forgetting about Iilya at his back, he reached out to Jounouchi, grasping his hand tightly, whispering for him not to let go, to never let go, when something hard hit him over the head. The shadows, he realized weren't attacking Jounouchi, they only _seemed _to be. He was being taken under by Nikolaos's eyes as those cold grey irises stared down at him.

"Come, Seto Kaiba. I have a friend who is dying to meet you." Her voice was still that echo of ripples in a too still, gloomy lake. But somehow, her form changed. She was no older than sixteen, her breasts just barely having stopped growing, almost full and supple. Her skin was a soft creamy-brown, the look to her features vaguely Native American. Somehow she was alive and dead at the same time. His logical mind began to fade as he took her hand, the shadows seeming to swallow him and the vampyres around him.

In the distance, like some fading dream, he heard one voice resonate around him, that voice itself deeper than normal, but he knew it well enough to place a face with it, but not enough just then to register a name.

"SETO! NO! SETOOOO!"

He closed his eyes, welcoming the sweet lascivious darkness of the night. Nikolaos whispered such beautiful, sweet things in his ear as he drifted into an easy sleep. But little did he know that she only whispered half of the night's true secrecy.

For the battle was only just beginning.

**_Haunted dreamers beware, it's time for the ultimate scare.  
Prepare your weapons, prepare your friends.  
Because the darkness has come, and its time to make amends._**

**_

* * *

_**

End Chapter 12 of Forbidden Fruit

:she shivers slightly: Ooh, I'm gonna have nightmares about this chapter and I'm the one that wrote it. Eek. . . my imagination really scares me sometimes. Okay people. . . The next chapter isn't the final one, mind you, but the one after it, Chapter 14 is. Yes, the fanfic is almost over. :cries softly, Jiro rubbing against her leg: Hey there. The cookies are where they always are. :the silver rabbit runs off, looking happy with himself:

At least HE liked the chapter.

Anyway, thanks to all of you who reviewed. And please, please let me know if there is anything I've over looked. Sometimes I'll do that. Type something, mess it up, then do it right later on. I hate that! So, please tell me if that happens. It would help a lot.

Okay, that's it for this chapter. Look for Chapter 13 sometime around Saturday or Sunday. Chapter 14 will follow soon after it. Also, I'm looking to have Pleasures of the Guilty, the sequel to this fanfic, coming up sometime around April the second, maybe earlier. It depends on when my state testing falls. After all, I've got the Algebra 1 test next month. :shudders in fear and hatred: I hate math!

But enough of my babbling! Until next time. . . .

Arigatou, minna-san!  
-Wareta Shooki

Last Edited 3 / 17 / 05  
(Happy St. Patrick's Day!)


	14. Chapter 13

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

Thanks to all of you who've reviewed constantly for every chapter.  
Special shout out to **Jin Shisikura**, you helped inspire this chapter.  
Other notes at bottom.  
Disclaimer in prologue.

* * *

Forbidden Fruit  
Chapter 13  
Ending -  
Something new

* * *

Darkness had rained down upon the world, banishing all the light and everything with it. This darkness one speaks of is a simple thing. Though not so powerful as many make it out to be, one must say this: Darkness holds many secrets, but only those made and raised within this impurity know its deepest secrets. All around one dances lies and secrecy so that no one truly knows the answers to the countless questions asked. However, one person learned early on that an angel, fallen or not, could discern the truth from the night, from the creatures known as monsters to humans when in all necessary truth, the angels so many praised were just as evil. 

A soft groan echoed about the room, resonating marvellously with the melody softly hummed by the other figure in the room as they sat watching the one whom had just groaned. That figure stood, throwing back the hood of its cloak to reveal beautifully sculpted, tanned features. Amidst these features, clearly those of a woman, were a pair of eyes that glowed like pools of cold, mercurial blue-fire. Golden locks that looked amber in the light shining from the many candles and the fluorescent lights on the ceiling fell over delicately slender shoulders, a few strands pulled back at half-mast and tied expertly with a black ribbon.

The other figure, a male, raised his head slowly, icy midnight eyes that were clouded with pain and what one might possibly consider sleep, opened and stared at the approaching female. They widened as the sleeping world was shoved roughly aside, letting the dreams that had plagued him to dissipate too quickly for their liking as he was instantly dizzy, his gaze losing focus before soft, sweet, oh-so-sweet, laughter filtered to his pained ears. The headache that had been tap-dancing at the back of his pain-clouded mind came pull force upon him. Another groan escaped his lips.

"You're so young. No wonder she likes you so much." That voice whispered, floating all around him. Those icy eyes lifted to stare into those mercurial ones of blue-fire, wondering why this woman seemed so familiar to him. Shaking his head slowly, he tried to stand, only to find he was already doing so. Then all true logic returned to his mind and he whimpered, pulling effortlessly at the chains binding his hands to the wall behind him. Someone had removed his shirt, leaving only his pants and boots. And, by the looks of things, he had been beaten. Badly. Either that, or he'd given them quite a fight.

He was never one to be chained for very long. It was simply his nature.

"Ooh, so quietly striking, too." Those eyes moved to level with his own, as it was he was only remaining upright because of the chains holding him up by the wrists. Already the skin felt raw and abused. He probably had been struggling a lot, most likely the reason he was beaten so badly. Shit, he really had to stop being so freakin' stubborn. Jounouchi was right. . . After all this time, the blonde was finally right.

"Katsuya. . . ." He murmured, his voice husky, deeper than usual, and strained. He'd screamed, too. He remembered now. She had beaten him when he wouldn't do a strip tease to let her see his 'precious body.' With a sigh, he felt slender digits wrap around his chin gently, ever so tenderly lifting his gaze to stare at his keeper for the time being.

"The lycanthrope, right? Katsuya Jounouchi?" She asked, his voice so low he had to strain to hear it. Those vocals didn't even echo around the room, his own had. And were still echoing. She wasn't human, but played the part, very, very well. He'd applaud her later, if there even was a later.

"Yes." He whispered, trying not to speak too much. It hurt his throat just thinking about yelling at her like he so wanted to do. But, what would the point be? A war was going to start if Jounouchi ever found him. And he'd need his strength to help the blonde. No matter how bad the odds, he'd go down fighting, if only it meant to hold Jounouchi close and kiss him one last time.

"I'll make you a deal, little one." She murmured, her voice ringing sweetly in his ear. "If you do everything I tell you, allow me to sing your pain away with my magick, I'll get you out of here alive. Or, better yet, I'll lead Katsuya here. What say you?"

"I say you answer a few. . . unh. . . questions of mine first." Kaiba replied.

"Agreed." She smiled, kneeling so he only had to stare down at her, her hands resting on her folded legs. Those mercurial eyes were unnervingly cunning and he wondered why they didn't bother him. Who the hell was this woman? She seemed so familiar it was almost frightening. "We'll each take turns asking a question. Make your first."

He nodded, stopping when it made his vision swim. "What is your name?"

Her smile widened and he was overcome almost by the radiance of it. She was so innocent, but so very old. Draco didn't come close to her in age. She had to have been on this earth since the beginning of time itself, she truly felt that old. "My name is Anzyle Sarawäk." She replied, her voice so kind, so gentle. He wondered vaguely, in some distant corner of his pain-filled mind why she wasn't hitting him yet. Surely he was dreaming? "What is your name?"

"You do not know my name yet you are my keeper?" Wow, he'd spoken eleven words without a bit of pain prickling his throat. Amazing. She shook her head and he smirked, but it wasn't his usual, trade-mark, condescending smirk. It was pained, but he was giving it the effort at least. He deserved major cookie points for trying that much. "Seto Kaiba." He replied finally, his eyes drooping slightly.

She touched his cheek and the drowsiness dissipated somewhat. He muttered a soft 'thank you' and Anzyle only smiled and nodded in return. "Why is Nikolaos keeping me here?"

"Ask the other part of your question before I answer."

"Why am I still alive?"

Anzyle sighed deeply. "First off, she's keeping you here because it is not you she wants. It is Katsuya and the Pharaoh. Together they pose a huge threat." She shook her head then, her hair falling into her eyes before she pushed the wayward strands behind her very pointed, demonic ears. "Second, you're still alive because if you weren't, it would be pointless for the two to come to your. . . oh, how would one put it. . . 'rescue'?"

Kaiba nodded in understanding and bowed his head, too tired but willing to ask one last question. "What are you, as it is, I know you're not human?"

Anzyle touched his cheek. "I am a born Constantine-Singer." Was the reply before soft music lilted through the air, the melody so beautiful he was reminded heartbreakingly so of his mother, and the image of the beautiful woman was replaced with his little brother's image almost immediately.

"Where is Mokuba. . . ?" He murmured.

"Safe and sound. He'll be leaving with me to get your friends to come here. He won't be harmed. Now rest, it'll all end soon, Seto Kaiba. This I promise you." Anzyle whispered, standing and walking towards the door of the room, staring up at the barred window at the full moon as it began its nightly dance, the red setting sun shining in through the window opposite the one the moon shown through. She sighed, singing as she pulled her hood back up, moving towards the door, her foot-falls soft and soothing. Just like her voice and song.

"And tonight the world shall burn.  
And we shall dance within the flames.  
Voices shall arise.  
Thundering the darkened skies."

The last words spoken softly in the room were forever etched in her mind, "Tell him . . . _Je t'aime _for me . . . ." She paused at the door, simply watching the wounded brunette as he hung there, looking so helpless and lost, but asleep and oblivious to her cold, mercurial gaze. Shaking her head in wonder, she passed through the door, never even opening it.

She'd forever remember this one. He was strong, and not even emotions of the heart brought him down. But he'd die one day for it. She only hoped she'd meet him at his best before then.

* * *

Sunrise had come and gone long ago, and with it was brought tears, yelled words, anger that was left unexplained and so much more. Currently, Katsuya Jounouchi sat in the Okinawa Police Station, wondering why he was still here when his lover was still out there, possibly being tortured to death and screaming for him to save him. With a deep, heart-felt sigh, Jounouchi rose to his feet, feeling so tired and out of place. He'd been allowed to change into a pair of jeans and a white polo. So had Yuugi, Yami, Ceilya, Erik, and Draco. Neither Mokuba nor Seto Kaiba had been found. The two unknown vampyres he'd fought were given names, ironically enough, and he'd been questioned as to how they all came to be trapped in a deadly battle to the death. 

Lucky for them all, Anzu had briefed them before the police arrived on the story she used. The cerulean-eyed girl had told the police they were having a sleep-over party in honour of graduation a few months before, and were attacked from nowhere. She had managed to escape to get the police and the others had been left to fight. The officers had questioned her for hours and finally gave up when her story didn't change and nothing was 'given up' that hadn't been when this all began.

"Oi, blondie, where the hell you think you're going?" a gruff voice asked him, making him jump slightly.

Ticked off, tired, and feeling guilty for not being able to save Kaiba, the blonde whirled around to glare at the uniform who was glaring at him in racist contempt. For the first time, he'd met a black cop that was racist against white people. Shaking his head, he winked at the other and answered, "The bathroom. Wish to join me?"

Brown eyes widened and the black cop shivered before walking away quickly. Smiling, obviously happy with himself, Jounouchi continued on his way to the bathroom. Somehow, they'd all managed to keep their stories the same with vague differences showing they were all in different places at the same time. With another sigh, he pushed open the bathroom door and blanched seeing Erik, Draco, Bakura, and Ryou all sitting together, talking and whispering. When he entered their angered eyes lifted and he held up his hands in innocence.

"Don't eat me." He joked half-heartedly, sauntering over to them and dropping to the ground. "Any luck, Draco, on remembering where Nikolaos is hiding?" He asked the silver-haired vampyre. Draco just shook his head and let out a deep breath. Erik smiled good-naturedly and turned to Ryou.

"Perhaps there is another way of reaching Kaiba without all that. . . ." He said thoughtfully, pushing a strand of auburn-brown hair from his eyes.

"There is." A female voice whispered, causing them all to jump.

Jounouchi stood swiftly, unsheathing the daggers that the idiot police officers had missed when searching him. 'Standard procedure' his ass. He'd eat his shoe laces before he even believed that shit. A pair of cold eyes that looked like pools of mercurial blue-fire stared at them all. Draco smiled, stood and ran to hug her. She hugged him back and the rest of them blinked in surprise.

"Draco, _moui torän_, who is this?" Erik asked.

"Everyone, this is Anzyle Sarawäk. If anyone can help us right now, it's her." The silver-haired vampyre replied, looking extremely happy.

Jounouchi eyed her and sniffed the air. With a growl that made his somewhat psychotic grin look like a snarl, he backed away from her, falling into a fighting stance instantly, daggers raised and ready. "You've touched him. You. . . you. . . Aitsume!" He growled, moving to lunge forward and finding himself suspended, stopped mid-air. Well then, _that_ had never happened before. Struggling to reach her he sighed, giving up.

"I have touched him only to heal him, Katsuya, nothing more and nothing less. He sends one message to you, _Je t'aime_. Heed it, because without those words, without the knowledge you'll come for him, he'd have died hours ago." Her voice was soft, kind, almost gentle. But in the seconds she'd snapped at the blonde, her voice had taken on the tone one uses when scolding a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. With a soft smile, she snapped her fingers and he was on his knees before her, daggers sheathed, and eyes pleading. "Now listen carefully. I have a plan to get all of your group out of this smelly place and on your way to save your lover. Are you willing to listen?"

Moving forward, he placed his hands on her hips, burying his face against her lower abdomen. Bakura and Ryou's eyes widened as Erik and Draco only smirked. The blonde had just said 'yes' but in the terms of a were-animal. Odd as it was, he'd just acknowledged the Constantine-Singer before them as his alpha female. If only Kaiba were there to witness it. Maybe then it'd actually be believable.

* * *

Cold grey eyes snapped to the doors as she sensed the figure walk through them. She shivered, hating how that power always unnerved her. Why was it she served her again? Oh, that's right.. . . she, Nikolaos, had something the bitch wanted. Freedom, a heart, someone who cared for her. That last thing might not be entirely true, but close enough for the woman to envy her. 

It was a beautiful game they played and dance they danced. Chuckling maniacally to herself she turned back to her sleeping toy. His bare chest held only two scars, each one criss-crossing the other, forming an oddly perfect cross-shaped scar in the middle of his upper body. The white lines were the only thing that marked his somewhat tanned complexion. Everything else was beyond perfection in every way. Her hands roamed over his muscles, those cold grey eyes watching in child-like fascination as they twitched ever so slightly.

"Lady Nikolaos. Stop playing with him and pay attention!" A voice snapped at her. Turning sharply she stared at Anzyle, one of the last four total born Constantine-Singers in all the lands. It was almost too good to be true when she'd met her, bribed her and convinced the golden-haired bitch to serve her and her only. When it was quite obvious Anzyle could overpower her, kill her, and simply be done with it. But in the end, it got her but a few minutes of precious pleasure then. . .nothing.

"You have been talking?" She asked, feigning innocence she clearly did not have.

A single dark eyebrow raised at this. Nikolaos gulped and backed away from Kaiba, turning to face the other, fully attentive at last. "Everything is set. I'm ready to carry out the second part of the trap." Anzyle murmured, her voice like poisoned honey to the taste. The sound of it mere bells and chimes on the ever distant and dancing winds. A long pause before Nikolaos turned away from her, studying her new toy as he slept on peacefully, figuring ways to make him fidget and scream her name in need and want.

Hmm. . . .

"Nikolaos!"

She jumped at that sharp, commanding voice that sounded not just pissed or furious, but so far beyond that she could have sworn on everything she had that time itself had just shivered from the power this one being controlled. Glancing over her shoulder warily at the other, she blanched seeing that subtle change in those cold mercurial eyes. With an overdramatic sigh, she turned to face her pet.

"Then do so. Prepare the main gathering chamber. I'll have Asher and Jairyd bring this beautiful man behind me out when it is time."

"I may take leave of you then?"

Nikolaos nodded, her ebony hair glittering darker than the purest onyx jewel. When she reached out to unbutton Kaiba's leather pants she heard a hiss and felt a phantom hand travel over her stomach, reaching between her legs to cup her ever so softly. Need sang through her body, causing muscles she didn't even know she had to tense as pain followed pleasure too quickly for her mind to recuperate.

"You will lay naught one digit on his form. If so, I will kill you here and now, rule this city as Master Vampyre and be forever done with you. Are we at an understanding, Lady Nikolaos?" Anzyle whispered in her ear, her real hand having replaced that phantom one, but that phantom hand, a mirror of her own, pressed against the thin, flimsy fabric of the vampyress's panties beneath her skirt.

"Yes! Yes, we do, Anzyle Sarawäk. We are at an understanding. I shall not touch him, I promise." Nikolaos whimpered. Those _hands _tightened around her inner self and her outer self painfully. She whimpered.

"On your life and power you promise." It was a statement but she answered it like a question.

"Yes. I promise to it all."

Anzyle leaned closer, licking her ear sweetly before whispering, "Do not break your promise to me, Nikolaos. I have placed a spell on him that shall protect him from being tainted by the likes of you. But if you touch him, the curse mingled with such a complex spell will be activated. And only I know the counter-curse. So do not test me."

She was gone before the Master of the City could do anything but sink to her knees and whimper in both pain and a cut-throat need. Her eyes glanced sharply at Kaiba, finding his icy midnight gaze on her. He gazed so steadily at her that she wondered how he, being human, didn't need to blink.

"You fear her." His voice was so soft, so commanding, so promising of so many things, she shivered.

"Ido not."

"Then why didn't you fight her?" Was the sharp retort.

"I was saving myself for you."

Kaiba rolled his eyes as if bored with her. "She will sooner have you than visa versa."

"Get sleep while you can now, Kaiba. In but another hour, you'll meet your maker, and he's none too happy with you."

"The same is said of yourself, Nikolaos."

With an angered huff, she all but ran to the door, pausing to sneer at him over her shoulder, cold grey eyes clouded with a nasty contempt. "Anzyle made me promise not to touch you, but she didn't say others couldn't have their fun." Satisfied with the way his eyes widened in what might have been fear, she swept from the room, screaming silently for Asher and Jairyd. She had a job for the two. Sometimes it paid to be a whore amongst the dark side of life.

And sometimes it didn't.

* * *

Moonlight flooded the land below in a silvery glow that never seemed to end. In the distance the howling of wolves and other animals echoed through the night, causing the group to shiver as they moved towards the warehouse which enclosed their goal and what they came here for. Anzyle, pretending to be their lawyer, got them out of the police station with enough time to prepare, bathe (by the gods they all needed it), and be on their way to save Seto and Mokuba Kaiba, Ryuuji Otogi, Hiroto Honda and Mai Valentine. 

Blonde hair cascaded over strong shoulders, making the face those tresses framed seem all the more alluring than it already was. A pair of honey-brown eyes stared out the window at the moonlit world outside the limousine that Kaiba's driver had somehow kept from being caught in the fray of violence that had taken over his boss's home a few hours prior. With a deep sigh that one might relate to a moan of pain, Katsuya Jounouchi shook a few strands of hair from his face, glancing down at his clothing.

Kaiba would flip if he knew the puppy had willingly dressed in the clothes he was wearing. A pair of black leather pants much like the ones Draco Chaisson had been wearing when they were first introduced, were tucked into a pair of soft, knee-high leather riding boots. The shirt he wore was a traditional, 16th century, billow-sleeved, tight-cuffed shirt. It's high neck was fastened, whilst the first five buttons of the shirt itself were left undone to give a glimpse to the semi-pale skin beneath. In all, Jounouchi hadn't recognized himself when he'd looked in the mirror. Ceilya smiled at him, handed him a ribbon that matched the deep crimson shirt he wore, and watched as he pulled his hair back into a low ponytail, tying the ribbon expertly to hold the hair in place.

Finally, they pulled up in front of an old, run-done warehouse. Above the huge doors that led to the interior were the words "Guiltily Pleasured" in green neon that shimmered weirdly. It was as if they were powered by magick alone and that nothing prepared those that stepped from the limousine for what awaited them inside.

Yuugi stood close to Yami, the two dressed much like they had been since ninth grade, both looking like twins, had it not been for the eyes being two different colours and the fact they stood close enough to become one again. That thought alone made Jounouchi's body shiver with an odd primal need. Shaking the thoughts from his head, he watched as Draco and Erik stepped out after the two spiky-haired teens and smiled seeing they were dressed much like him, only as though they came right out of the 12th or 14th centuries to the present day.

Bakura and Ryou held hands as they stepped out of the car. Bakura was dressed like a normal teenager. Black jeans with tears in both knees and one halfway up his left thigh. Worn Reebok tennis-shoes with navy writing, a black t-shirt with the words "Time to run. Time to die. I'm comin' for you all." in red on it with a white, quarter-sleeved shirt underneath. Ryou had much the same outfit, only with contrasting colours. Instead of black his jeans were a faded blue. Instead of black, his t-shirt was white with dripping black lettering and a black quarter-sleeved shirt underneath.

They both wore black trench coats made to impress. Bakura's hair was pulled back in a high ponytail whereas Ryou's was left to hang loosely around his shoulders. It was almost comical how they fit so well together, just never noticed it. The Sen'nen Ring glowed where it rested around Bakura's neck. The Sen'nen Necklace glowed faintly where it rested around Jounouchi's.

Ceilya was dressed like she had been when they'd gone to Le Darke Desires, never opting to change, but taking a shower like the rest of them. Her hair was still slightly damp and she shivered in the cool October air. Anzu was dressed in a navy blue skirt that fell to her knees with a button up, sailor uniform shirt. Black pumps and knee high, white socks completed the outfit. It never amazed Jounouchi how she was so weird yet played the part of an innocent school girl so well.

The last to exit the car was Anzyle Sarawäk. Truthfully, the blonde still didn't trust her, but hey. . . It wasn't like he had a choice right then. Her long cloak billowed open to show an ankle length skirt with two slits running up her legs to her waist, leaving only two inches of thin fabric it seemed, to keep the material in place. Blue flames danced up the front 'flap' of the skirt, as well as the back. Her top looked like a strapless bra with matching blue flames dancing along the bottom of it. And finally, to complete the exotic outfit she wore, were a pair of a ankle-high, soft leather boots. He noticed then, that there were curving lines along her tanned skin. Alternating blue, silver, and red lines interconnected to form some kind of an amazing tattoo that covered her whole body.

When she caught him staring, she smirked, closing her cloak teasingly. "You'll know the reason for what you saw after your precious lover is safe." She murmured. Although affection echoed in her voice, the blonde could have sworn he heard an underlying tone of jealousy to her words. Shaking it off as him hallucinating, he motioned for her to lead the way, which she did.

* * *

(A/n: For those with weak stomachs, leave now, or skip to the end. Because when Jounouchi changes forms, it isn't going to be pretty.) 

The front doors burst open and his head snapped up when he heard a yell of fury he would always recognize. Icy midnight eyes widened as he saw Jounouchi, Draco, Yami, Yuugi. .. all of them run through the doors, weapons ready and eyes flashing with anger. Nikolaos's "army" of sorts met them head on. He was helpless to stop any of it. He couldn't even scream out for Jounouchi to look his way, to help him. That he was right there...

Asher thrust into him again and his head sank back down again. Another thrust and his mouth opened in a silent scream. When the blue-black haired man thrust into him yet again Kaiba threw back his head in piercing shriek that echoed across the room. Everything froze, even the man behind him, whose hands rested on his shoulders, fingers curled until sharp nails dug into his clavicle sharply. Lifting his eyes, he stared at the first person, or thing, that he saw. And that happened to be Jounouchi.

The puppy's body had gone rigid with tension, his eyes slowly changing from honey-brown to wolfish-amber. His body shook as a tremor ran through him. A low, menacing growl escaped feather-soft lips as the other slowly approached them. "Get you filthy human hands off him." Jounouchi growled, his skin seeming to ripple like a pond whose crystal waters had been disturbed most unpleasantly.

Asher smirked. "Why should I?"

Jounouchi dropped his daggers to the floor with a resonating clang and fell into a crouch-like position, hands poised as if he'd grow claws suddenly, lunge at the one still buried inside Kaiba, and tear him to pieces. "Because, he's mine." Was the simple reply as if that should and could explain it all.

The blue-black haired man's smirk widened impossibly as he reached around Kaiba with one of his hands and took hold of the other's length, squeezing tightly, making Kaiba wince and try to get away from him. But the CEO's hands were chained above his head with shackles attached to a long chain hanging from the high ceiling. Jounouchi growled as his body began to shiver. Kaiba watched in something akin to horror as Jounouchi's nails grew longer, his fingers doing the same as bones seemed to shift and rearrange, changing form over and over until they were just right. Suddenly Jounouchi's shirt was on the floor and his back bone repeated the same thing his hands did as he fell to his hands and knees. Leather boots were off next, followed by Jounouchi's trousers as his skin rippled with change.

Kaiba's eyes widened as he watched golden fur appear along Jounouchi back. He watched muscle shift and change like everything else as the fur continued to sprout from the blonde's very skin. A sheer, gooey liquid fell around the blonde, mixing with blood as skin broke for the bones and muscle to shift into different places before it healed itself. When it was finished, Kaiba found himself staring into the wolfish-amber eyes of Katsuya Jounouchi. Asher pulled out of him with a low, happy groan, Kaiba only whimpered ever so softly in pain.

As the man who had just raped him over and over for the last two hours moved away from him, the lycanthrope who stood before everyone now as the wolf-form of Katsuya Jounouchi, his lover, followed his every move. Finally, fear sang through the air, and the golden-furred werewolf smiled, actually smiled before leaping towards Asher and tackling him. Kaiba closed his eyes, willing it all to be a dream. Willing himself to ignore the screams of pain as Jounouchi all but ate the man who'd just raped him.

_What is it I've become? Have I sunk so low as to stop loving Jounouchi because of what I've always known him to be? _He sighed softly, opening his eyes to stare in fearful wonderment as Jounouchi threw back his head and howled into the night. _No, but that doesn't make him any less frightening. _

It was just then that he felt the pull of something in him. Without knowing he did it, the shackles keeping his hands above is head broke and he sank to his knees on the ground, his naked form shivering. Grunting when he fell onto his hands and knees, he bowed his head, rich brown hair in dire need of a haircut, fell into his face, shadowing his icy midnight eyes. Around him the sounds of fighting slowly resumed before another howl sounded, but it wasn't the one of victory Jounouchi had screamed a few moments before, this time, it was one of pain.

A dream that he hadn't had for months now flashed back to him. Pictures of seeing a wolf with golden fur at the feet of Pharaoh Atemu, pictures of that wolf licking his face before being led away, pictures of trying to hold back tears as a single, last howl rent the air, his name riding it beautifully. Seto Kaiba rose to his feet and felt power swirl around him. Before he knew it once again, he was dressed in the purple, silver, and gold clothing he'd worn when he was a High Priest of the Pharaoh in ancient Egypt. Holding up his right hand, he watched in vague fascination as the Sen'nen Rod appeared there.

"Nikolaos!" He yelled, the movements of everyone, even Jounouchi, coming to an abrupt halt. Cold grey eyes turned to glare at him in angry contempt before they widened seeing who stood before her. Mentally she hissed curses at herself for her stupidity. Did she honestly think he could be brought down so easily? "This is for all the people you've hurt."

He waved his hand in and odd swishing-flick motion before pointing the Sen'nen Rod at her. She only smiled coldly, the emotion lighting her eyes on fire. "You cannot beat me with useless magick tricks, Seto Kaiba. You should know this by now."

The smirk that lifted Kaiba's lips touched his icy midnight eyes with a mercurial fire that rivalled Anzyle's own. With a deep sigh, the world around them seemed to pause as Time slowly came to a stand-still. Then, like someone was pressing the fast forward button on their lives, time sped up to meet the column of golden-lilac light as it sped towards Nikolaos, casting the warehouse in a swath of golden light able to be seen for miles.

_This time, Nikolaos, _he thought, watching as she stood there watching his power come crashing down upon her, _you won't take him from me. You won't get the satisfaction of killing him again. A prophecy was made, I remember it now. But the tables of fate have turned. _

She screamed an inhuman howl as his power hit her.

_This time it will be **your** blood that paints the crimson sunrise._

_

* * *

_

End Chapter 13 of Forbidden Fruit

:shewhimpers softly: Oh no! It's almost over:sighing deeply, she wipes away her tears, clapping her hands together, trying to be cheerful and failing. Giving up she settles for acting normal: Okay people, this is, technically, the end of the story 'Forbidden Fruit.' However, do not start screaming yet. I said there would be a chapter fourteen and a sequel. There will be. So do not start throwing the tomatoes yet.

First off, Chapter 14 will be a wrap up of what happens after the battle ends and hints at what will come in the sequel. Here's a bit of info all of you must know and come to look for in 'Pleasures of the Guilty,' the sequel to this fic.

Yuugi and Yami's wedding will be taking place, Jounouchi and Kaiba will finally be settling down, and a few other surprises. So look for Chapter 14 and after that, the first chapter of the sequel! Thank you and good night!

Arigatou, minna-san!  
-Wareta Shooki

Last Edited 3 / 22 / 05


	15. Chapter 14

Forbidden Fruit  
by: Wareta Shooki

Thank you, minna-san, for reviewing on this story and loving it like you have.  
As promised, this is the end of the story, the epilogue and beginning for the sequel.  
All other notes at bottom.  
Disclaimer in prologue.

* * *

Forbidden Fruit  
Chapter 14  
Ending-  
Finalé

* * *

_The aircraft was silent, almost eerily so. But for once the silence didn't bother me like it should have. I stood up and stretched, knowing that tomorrow we'd land on KaibaCorp Island and the final rounds of Battle City would begin. Glancing over at the corner where my brother slept soundly, I felt guilt spike in me from nowhere. I'd dragged him into this, let him see that sociopath, Malik Ishtar, and didn't help any of those other second-rate duellists as he picked them off one by one. _

Removing my trade-mark white trench coat, I slipped it over my brother's slumbering form, not wanting to move him for fear of being bombarded with angry questions. Shaking my head whilst trying not to smile at too fond memories, I walked from the room, letting the computer system continue happily translating the Egyptian text on the God Card the guy pretending to be Malik had used.

Walking onto the observation deck, I leaned against the railing, gazing out into the space where heaven and earth met, the waters of the deep, far-stretching ocean reminding me too much of our mother's eyes as the moonlight played across it. Bowing my head, my eyes drifting shut, I listened to the nightly melody. The doors leading up here opened and I looked over my shoulder seeing Yuugi Mutou walk up to stand beside me.

But it wasn't the little, amethyst-eyed Yuugi Mutou I'd know since virtually eighth grade and the years that followed, but the older Yuugi, the one I always faced during duels except for that one time. Crimson eyes stared at me briefly before gazing out over the railing to the waters and heavens spread before us like a proverbial red-carpet. The gods only knew it was.

"You're up late, Kaiba. I'm surprised." That deep voice flowed to me.

I glanced sharply at him. Was there a point to that comment? Seeing his eyes, there was, but it wasn't in the words he'd spoke aloud. It was there in those crimson depths that always unnerved me more so than I'd ever openly admit. It was there in the riddle that enshrouded the very Sen'nen Item around his neck. A puzzle that fit him so perfectly, I often wondered if there was a puzzle out there that fit me as perfectly as the Sen'nen Puzzle did Yuugi Mutou.

Finally, I looked away, not wanting to see the knowing look in those crimson eyes. "I always am, Mutou. You know that." It wasn't the truth, but it was a lie either. It was somewhere in between and I really didn't want to decipher just where it lay between the two.

His soft chuckle made me turn on him harshly, he stopped my words by simply holding up a thin-fingered, slender hand. "Kaiba, you wanted to jump up there to save Katsuya, didn't you?"

Suddenly my eyes burned and I turned away from him swiftly. There was no way I could lie staring straight at him. Yes, I had wanted to save that damned puppy. But fear of so many things kept my feet rooted to the spot. I hated the one standing next to me for jumping in front of that attack without hesitation. The blonde had been a fool to try and save that female duellist. And I hated her for ever winning his affection. My vision bled green before it faded. I was beyond being jealous. Hell, the damned mongrel had everything I never had. Friends, a family, people that actually, genuinely **cared**.

Yes, I had Mokuba. . . but sometimes. . .it wasn't enough. Sighing, I finally bowed my head. There was no use hiding it. The ancient spirit already knew my answer. And I could only guess that he wouldn't leave me alone until I said it aloud.

"Of course I did." I snapped, moving away from him towards the door.

"You know, Kaiba, he was disappointed when it was me that saved him, not you." Those words caught my breath and held it, twisting the knife of guilt further into my heart and gut. What kind of fucked up mind games did these people play? If thought **I **had issues. . . I was **nothing **compared to these people . . . .

I looked over at that crimson gaze only to find it was amethyst again. I shivered involuntarily. I always hated when the spiky-haired duellist did that. It was as if he were schizophrenic. And for all I knew, he was. "I can't please everybody, Mutou."

"You can't always run from everybody either, Kaiba."

I left swiftly before he caught the emotions in my eyes. I never would forgive him for being right.

* * *

Nikolaos fell to the stone floor, her right arm curled beneath her, her left arm stretched out past her head. Her body lay stiff on the floor, her hair splayed across her shoulders like some odd form of art, her skirt barely hiding her modesty. Her skin still had steam rising from it after the golden, fiery-light had dissipated. It was no wonder she wasn't moving.

Kaiba took a hesitant step forward, the magick flowing around him starting to fade. It was hard to simply stay standing. At least fifteen pairs of eyes stared at him and for the first time, he felt self-conscious. Put aside the fact he'd been naked as the day he was born but minutes before. . . No, he'd just performed a highly complex piece of magick like it was nothing and he felt more than self-conscious. But when his icy gaze locked with that of a warm, wolfish-amber, his heart soared and he smiled. The emotion touched his eyes, lighting them further on fire, the mercurial state of them surpassing what they'd been seconds before.

"_Vous. . vous hybride_!" A soft voice hissed.

They all turned and watched as Nikolaos floated, yes floated to her feet. Seeing her blazing, cold grey eyes, Kaiba's life passed sharply before his eyes. Memories of the times spent in ancient Egypt, his times as a child with his parents, his time growing up under the watchful, abusive eye of Gozoboro Kaiba, his precious days spent with Mokuba, and finally, the first time he and Jounouchi had ever kissed. Everything came and went like someone had viciously pressed the fast-forward button after rewinding his memories all the way to the very beginning. But at some point, the film stuttered before coming to a final halt.

Nothing prepared him for the wave of intense magick that hit him. Staring into her eyes still, those cold grey pools became soft ones ofwholesome sapphire-violet. His mother's eyes. That ebony hair became curly almost, falling just past her elbows, a few wisps falling into her delicate face. "Seto-kun, it's been so long."

His body shook. In his heart he knew it was a trap, a set-up by Nikolaos. But his soul ached for the smooth touch and caring voice of his mother. Taking an unsteady step forward, his magick slowly failing around him, he fell to his knees. The clothing of a High Priest of Egypt fell away into dust, scattering in a nonexistent wind. The Sen'nen Rod clattered to the floor as he struggled to crawl closer to her. The sweet scents of spices and vanilla permeated the air and he whimpered softly when she moved farther away.

"Why don't you say anything, Seto-kun? Do you not love your Kaachan anymore?" Her pain echoed in that voice, so familiar yet so desolate. In the distance, he heard his name being screamed in fright. But his mind processed only yips and growls. Yet, just as he was about to touch her, something huge and furry bowled into him, sending them both rolling over the stone floor.

Looking up he was startled to say the least when he saw a pair of honey-brown eyes staring coldly at him, felt a too human body pressed against his own, saw golden tresses falling around them like a curtain that hid the world around them from their view, leaving just the two of them in their own made up reality. He felt those familiar hands run the length of his body, remembering every hot and weak spot as they explored. Shivering he looked away only to feel soft lips on his neck and something hard pressed against him.

"Seto. . . Look at me." A voice, deep and husky, whispered. Flashes of a time when Kaiba had met the other in the locker room at school, how Yami's phone call interrupted them, resurfaced and he groaned throatily, bucking his hips upward, his own erection pressing against the blonde's. "Seto, look at me."

He did. He stared into those beautiful, honey-brown eyes that were so deep they were mysterious, and so mysterious, they were inhuman. He reached up and touched his face. "Katsuya. . ." He didn't have time to finish his sentence before the blonde kissed him roughly, claiming his mouth as his own, rubbing their bodies together, marking his own scent on the other and visa versa. Kaiba was his, god damn it, and he'd be damned to hell before he let anyone take him away.

When they drew apart someone grabbed Jounouchi by the back of the throat and easily tossed him into a far wall. Kaiba growled his name before finding himself drowning in cold grey eyes again. He smirked, and for the first time in too long, it was the trade-mark, condescending smirk he'd had before he and Jounouchi began dating. . . Before he figured out the lump in his chest that beat every few seconds was his heart. Nikolaos faltered and he could see somewhere in the corner of his eyes, Yami and the rest locked in a vicious battle.

Leaning close to her, his smirk widened. "This is for my parents, bitch." Pressing his lips to her own, he stifled her shrieks as he tore out her throat, working on her heart. When he held the still beating muscle in his hand, he kicked her off him and threw the organ at her. She stared at him, her eyes slowly going blank, slowly dying. "Good morning, Nikolaos." He whispered as her body fell back against the floor, her blood pooling around her.

Sitting up, he looked around the room. Yami was fending off a black leopard whose crystal eyes were like chips of ice as it tried to claw through his barrier to get to the two fallen duellists. Yuugi was at Yami's back, sitting on the floor as he kept shooting round after round into the body of a vampyre whose long hair gave it the impression of being female. Had he not been naked, Kaiba would have thought him so.

Grabbing his Sen'nen Rod, he raised it in the air, calling forth a magick so powerful and so ancient, it shook the very foundation of the warehouse itself. Yami's puzzle, Jounouchi's necklace, and Bakura's ring all glowed brightly, increasing in intensity until the light itself was blinding. "Let it be known, it ends tonight!" Kaiba screamed as the power caved in on itself before washing over the ground like ripples of radiation after an atomic bomb goes off.

"Kaiba! Get Katsuya!" Bakura yelled, helping Ceilya to her feet.

The brunette didn't need to be told twice. He ran towards his lover, falling to his knees as he cradled him close. "Katsuya. . ."

"Seto, where's Mokuba? Otogi? Honda? Mai?" Jounouchi asked softly, his eyes opening to half mast.

"I'm not sure."

"Ryou, Erik, follow me. We'll get the humans, the rest of you get out." Anzyle cried, running past them and disappearing into the gathering shadows as the sky seen from the sky lights in the ceiling began to turn an odd shade of grey. Dawn was coming. Shit! Yami picked Yuugi up in his arms easily as he ran through the doors, Ceilya helping Bakura aid Ryou in walking, his right leg bent at an odd angle.

Kaiba tried to stand, watching with a clouded vision as Jairyd, Asher's lover and master, came running towards them, a torch raised. Kaiba dodged the attack, watching as Jounouchi kicked the torch from the vampyre's hand, the wooden stick flying end over end before landing on a pile of linen perilously close to tanks of flammable gas. Cursing, Kaiba helped Jounouchi get to his feet before moving past Jairyd. Anzyle, Draco, and Erik ran out of nowhere it seemed with the four other prisoners in their arms.

They were halfway to the front doors and safety when the fire reached the cans of gas and ignited. Kaiba dove to the ground, covering Jounouchi's body with his own as fire and flaming debris flew over his back, some pieces landing on his bare skin, burning him slowly but not enough to cause terrible damage. Anzyle screamed as she was knocked over by a flaming piece of metal that caught her right in the face. Mokuba fell to the floor a few feet from her, his indigo eyes wide with fear, his face covered in nasty cuts and bruises.

Draco and Erik cowered behind a half-decayed wall as debris came flying their way. Another set of explosions sent more debris their way, and Kaiba watched in horror as the wall collapsed on top of them and the three they'd been trying to save. Crying out in agony when flames seared his back, legs, arms and buttocks, he buried his face in Jounouchi's neck, wishing for the fire to stop exploding already so they could get up, get out, and find out what to do then.

As if the cans of gas were listening to his wish, they no longer exploded. Lifting his head, he saw Jairyd caught mid-movement, nothing but burning flesh, only his over-bright brown eyes left fully intact before he fell to the ground with a muffled cry. Looking over to Anzyle and Mokuba, he saw the woman was conjuring a blanket to wrap around him. "Anzyle, I need a blanket and something for Jounouchi to wear. Check on the others." He called.

What he'd asked for appeared beside him and he tried to stand, only succeeding in falling off his lover and landing on his burnt backside. Jounouchi sat up swiftly, dawning the pair of jeans Anzyle had conjured and wrapped him gently in the blanket. Those honey-brown eyes looked around, watching as Draco and Erik emerged from the burning rubble of what had once been a crumbling wall. Kaiba closed his eyes, ready to pass out from the smoke that had begun to fill the room, the flames growing hotter by the minute.

"Come on! We've gotta get outta here!" Jounouchi cried so suddenly, it made Kaiba jump. He watched as Anzyle swept past them, Mokuba in her arms. Draco and Erik helped Mai Valentine and Ryuuji Otogi walk as Hiroto Honda moved slowly, but surely towards the door. With strength he didn't know the blonde was capable of, Jounouchi picked Kaiba up into his arms and ran out after the others, the Sen'nen Rod tucked neatly into his back pocket.

As they made it outside, the sun rose and the warehouse's foundation fell in on itself as the fire continued to rage. Kaiba took one last look at it before consciousness failed him and he fell into darkness, thankful that it was all over.

* * *

Katsuya Jounouchi sat at Seto Kaiba's bedside in the hospital room, his eyes closed, head bowed in sleep. He was clad in only a pair of worn in jeans and a simple white T-shirt with a blue stripe across the middle of his chest. Hanging around his neck was the picture of his sister, Shizuka Jounouchi. His golden hair glittered in the afternoon sunlight that poured in through the window. Crystal blue curtains hung open and docile, the steady beeping of the heart-machine going as the other continued to sleep. 

Icy midnight eyes slowly opened to the world around them. Looking to the right he saw the object of his dreams, of his nightmares, of his life, sitting in that straight-back wooden chair beside his bed. A single hand, wrapped in bandages from the wrist almost to finger-tips held one of his own, the other pierced with an I.V. hooked into the various monitors and machines beside his bed. He found he could only stare at the other as he slept, knowing this was the only time the other actually looked peaceful, no longer having to worry about the cut-throat world around him. He shifted and the other stirred. Mentally cursing himself, he waited, not wanting to pretend to be asleep.

As much as he hated to admit it, he wanted to see those eyes, the very eyes that had haunted his sleep for almost two years. Sure enough, honey-brown irises opened slowly, blinked, and were wide open when they saw he was staring into them. A smile slowly spread across feather soft lips as Jounouchi leaned down and kissed the brunette CEO of KaibaCorp.

"Glad your awake." The blonde whispered when he pulled back.

"So am I, koinu." He whispered. Jounouchi chuckled and nuzzled his neck before sitting up straight again. For the longest time they just sat or lay there in silence, caught up in the other's gaze and lost within the flood of their own thoughts. Finally, unable to take the heavy silence anymore, Kaiba whispered, "How long have I been out?"

"Three weeks." came the swift reply.

Kaiba faked a look of utter fear. "Shit! I haven't been to work in months! They'll have think I died!" He joked. Jounouchi's sweet laughter was music to his ears as he watched the other shake his head.

"Damn it, Moneybags, ya need ta stop bein' such a fuckin' workaholic. It's bad for yer health." Jounouchi murmured, his eyes sparkling. Kaiba sat up slowly, grateful when the blonde helped him. Pulling his lover closer, he whispered in his ear soft words of gratitude before enveloping the other in a deep, passionate kiss.

"Thank you Katsuya." He murmured, his voice deep and husky, retelling stories of a night that was still burned freshly into Jounouchi's memories.

"Likewise."

Again, silence enveloped them before the door to the room opened and a rather tall, black-haired teenager stepped into the room. Violet-sapphire eyes held a deep intelligence as they gazed at the two. Finally Mokuba Kaiba rolled his eyes and walked up to his older brother, whacked him over the head and simply stated, "Seto no baka!" Before sitting down at the foot of his bed and staring at Jounouchi pointedly.

"It doesn't help if ya come in, hit him, make him mad, and simply sit there. So ya know." Jounouchi said, sounding embarrassed and irritable all of the sudden.

There was the blonde duellist he knew.

"Koinu, whatever happened to you?" Kaiba asked suddenly, making both his lover and brother jump and stare at him as if he'd finally lost it.

"Um. . . You, perhaps? 'Though it mighta been somethin' else. I dunno." Jounouchi said, the sarcasm thick in his voice. Kaiba chuckled and looked pointedly at Mokuba who threw his hands in the air and left the room mumbling about stupid big brothers and their boyfriends that think they know everything. The two simply shook their heads before staring at each other.

"Why did you come for me, Katsuya?" Kaiba finally asked, wanting to know the answer, _needing _to know the answer.

"I didn't want ta lose ya, Seto." Was the soft reply. _I didn't want you to be disappointed when someone else saved ya. _He finished mentally, looking at the floor as if it had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the whole world. Which, by far, wasn't true considering one of the most interesting things in the world to him just then was laying in that damned bed, naked if it weren't for the hospital gown the doctors made the patients where. It was like some standard procedure to make people get bad cases of embarrassment.

Even in his mind he was rambling. This was not good.

"Katsuya. . ." He looked up at that voice, not wanting to, but because he had to. To keep his gaze averted meant that he saved Kaiba three weeks ago because he'd been obliged to do so. Which, in some twisted way he had. And why? Because there were too many times when the icy-eyed brunette had saved his sorry little ass from so many dangers. So many times when he simply wanted to pull the other close and whisk away all the bad things in his childhood. Sure, Jounouchi's past wasn't all bunnies and happy things, but Kaiba's was so much worse. "Why did you really save me?"

He mentally cursed the CEO for being so damn smart and perceptive. Right then, however, staring into those icy midnight eyes, he realized Kaiba already knew his answer, just wanted to hear it out loud for the first time. Then something else occurred to him. After they'd made love for the first time, Kaiba had whispered, _Je t'aime. _What the hell had that meant? He knew it was French but still. . .

_You took French with Anzu in tenth grade, dipshit, you should know what it means. _Jounouchi thought before sighing softly. Then something in his mind clicked and a voice whispered, _I love you. That's what he's said all this time and I never knew what he meant. _Leaning down, he smiled as he kissed the brunette softly, tenderly. "Because, you piece of sarcastic shit, I love you."

Kaiba laughed and deepened the kiss, pulling the blonde onto the bed so he straddled his hips. Curious hands dove under the blonde's shirt to re-explore toned muscles and a flat stomach. Jounouchi shivered at his touch, moving his hips against the others, feeling Kaiba jump beneath him at the sudden contact they hadn't had in months. The kiss grew more desperate as they struggled not to take each other right then and there.

And, like all good things between the two, something just _has _to interrupt it.

"Hey, Jou I heard Kaiba. . .Oh my GODS!" A shriek sounded. Both broke away to turn and stare icily at the person who had interrupted them. "Jeez, you two, get a freakin' room!"

Jounouchi laughed darkly at the look on Anzu's face. His mind became devious as he subtly drove the one beneath him insane with need, and cursing the one who stood at the door for interrupting their fun. "We do have a room, Anzu. You're the one that barged in out of bloody nowhere." He said, his voice so deep and sophisticated that Kaiba shivered. He loved that voice, he knew it meant pleasant things in the future. Though not pleasant for other people to see, pleasant for him.

"Come out when you two are done. Try to make too much noise. Yuugi's trying to sleep in the next room." She disappeared, closing the door behind her.

Amber eyes returned to meet icy midnight irises clouded with need and lust. "Now. . . where were we?" He asked, leaning down and nuzzling the other's neck, kissing and licking the sensitive flesh, sending wave upon wave of pleasure and need to the brunette's already hardening member.

"Here's good." Was the stuttered response.

* * *

Yami leaned against the wall beside Yuugi's bed, his presence alone making the other feel more comfortable. The amethyst-eyed boy wasn't really sleeping, but pretending to be. When Anzu told them what she'd walked in on, he laughed and shook his head, opting to keep the comment he'd been about to say to himself. However, that didn't keep him from sharing it with Yuugi through their mind link. The teen only laughed harder.

"It's good to see him smile again." The cerulean-eyed girl said, then promptly shivered. "I just wish I hadn't walked in on that though."

Hiroto Honda snickered. "Sure. . . You know you're a huge fan of yaoi, Anzu. You wanted nothing more than to sit and watch." He said, running his hands through Ryuuji's hair where the inventor of Dungeon Dice Monsters sat at his feet in front of the chair.

Her cerulean gaze was sharp and cold when she glared at him. "Shut up, Hiroto, you don't understand. With them. . . it's different. I mean sure, when Yuugi and Yami kiss we can all feel the power of their close bond." Promptly the two spiky-haired teens blushed. She ignored this, continuing on. "But I could hardly touch the handle of the door, it felt like it burned when I did. Their power is amazing, their bond probably stronger than the one Yami and Yuugi, or even Bakura and Ryou share. It doesn't seem possible on so many levels, but they're made for each other."

Yami snickered, still blushing. "I understand what you mean, Anzu-chan. I've felt it to. Just being around them when they're together. . . The power is amazing." He bowed his head, muttering something about the past that only Yuugi caught. The ancient spirit gripped his aibou's hand tightly before smiling fondly at him.

"I'm just glad this whole Nikolaos crap is over and done with." Mokuba spoke up suddenly.

The door to Yuugi's hospital room opened and Ceilya poked her head in, smiling. "Jeez, it's hot in the hallway." She commented. "How come it's so freezing in here?"

Yuugi laughed and Yami had to answer for him, "Check next door and you'll know why."

Being the curious vampyress she often can be, Ceilya walked next door and they heard her yell of surprise before a "So sorry!" sounded and she flew in the door, slammed it shut, and promptly attached herself to a chair along the wall farthest from the door and wall connecting to Kaiba's room. "That. . .was just . . . plain WRONG!"

The group of friends broke out into laughter as Ceilya just glowered.

Some things, it would seem, never really change. Others. . . now that, was an entirely **different **story.

_

* * *

_

**End Chapter 14 of Forbidden Fruit**

:she cries softly: Ra, it's finally finished. I can't believe it:for a few more moments she cries before wiping her tears with a tissue and standing up, attempting to look dignified:

Okay people, that was the final chapter of Forbidden Fruit. Be looking for the sequel, 'Pleasures of the Guilty' in the near future. Probably in two or three days it'll be out. Once again, I want to thank all of you who've reviewed, sent me cookies, made funny comments about things characters have said in this fanfic. . . Love to all of you!

And now, I must leave before I start to cry like some babbling idiot!

Arigatou, minna-san!  
-Wareta Shooki

Last Edited 3 / 22 / 05


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